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Ten people have been killed and scores injured in a recent spate of bombings in Colombia as South America's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), soon marks the 40th anniversary of its Marxist insurgency. Authorities have blamed the bombings on the 17,000-strong FARC, whose rebellion was launched by Manuel Marulanda, whose nom de guerre was "Tiro Fijo," or "Sure Shot," on May 27, 1964, in southern Colombia. But no one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, all of which occurred in the northwestern province of Antioquia. The army and police are on high alert to prevent further attacks, and authorities are not ruling out the possibility that FARC is planning to raise havoc ahead of its 40th anniversary on Thursday. "We are trying to neutralize any attempts to repeat these terrorist actions," said National Police General Alberto Ruiz Garcia. Five people were killed and 90 were wounded late Saturday when a remote-controlled bomb was detonated inside a crowded discotheque in the Antioquia town of Apartado, near the Caribbean coast. "It's a tragedy that this happens in our town, which for a long time did not experience violence problems," said Apartado Mayor Jose Fidelio Banqueros, who attributed the attack on the club "The Beer Bar" to FARC. Earlier, a bomb exploded inside a truck in the northwestern town of San Carlos, killing one person and seriously injuring three more in an incident police attributed to FARC. Four people were killed and 17 were hurt late Thursday in Medellin, Antioquia's main town and Colombia's second largest city with three million people. The bomb exploded in front of Antioch University. A Medellin government spokesman, Alonso Salazar, said an urban commando for FARC was a likely suspect in the attack, for which no one claimed responsibility. President Alvaro Uribe, who was mayor of Medellin, has taken a tough stance against the guerrillas, but FARC has retreated into the jungle while using its urban militias for its attacks. Some tragedies were averted in the last 24 hours. Secret Police Director Jorge Noguera said that after a two month investigation authorities seized on Sunday 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of TNT that FARC had planned to use against a military brigade in the southern province of Huila. Two suspected rebels were detained in the operation, Noguera said. Early Saturday, a bomb exploded in Cali, the country's third largest city, near the Air Force school, but the blast caused no casualties. Colombia's civil war has left more than 200,000 people dead and 2.7 million people displaced within their own country. About 3,000 people are kidnapped every year, and FARC is believed to be holding 1,600 people hostage. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
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