BOGOTA, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe resigned Friday amid criticism of his failure to stamp out the offensive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest rebel group in the Andean country.

    The minister told a press conference that President Alvaro Uribe will likely appoint Camilo Ospina, the legal adviser to the presidency, as his replacement.

    Uribe will remain on the job until the president makes the appointment after he returns from a visit to Spain, officials said.

    Ospina, a lawyer, has been reportedly competing for the post ofthe attorney general to replace Luis Camilo Osorio.

    Last month, the defense chief survived a no-confidence vote in Congress by a slight majority. The vote came after hundreds of soldiers had been killed this year in the guerrilla attacks by theFARC.

    He was also weakened politically by a decision to remove four generals from the army leadership and create joint commands similar to those of the United States. He met with strong opposition from the generals. Enditem