by Zhang Tao

    BOGOTA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The Colombian army launched at least 10,000 highly effective operations against rebels in the first half of this year, an official report said on Sunday.

    According to the report, there were 834 combats during all the operations against terrorist groups, drug-trafficking rings, and other rebel organizations. A total of 281 guerilla fighters and 27 members of illegal groups were killed by Colombian soldiers.

    The operations were launched at 31 departments in Colombia. During the operations, as many as 4,003 rebels were disarmed, including 1,535 guerillas from the largest anti-government group Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia (FARC), 280 guerillas from the Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN), and over 2,100 members from other rebel groups.

    Meanwhile, the troops thwarted 1,293 terrorist attacks and destroyed 679 camps of rebel groups, especially the FARC. A total of 41 hostages were rescued by the government in the first half of 2009.

    Government troops also destructed 6,502 artificial explosive devices installed by terrorists on roads, bridges, and in schools.

    The casualties consisted of 75 soldiers, and 279 others were injured during the combats against rebels, the report noted.

    The Colombian government under Alvaro Uribe has begun to implement the Democratic Security policy since 2002 to eliminate the armed conflicts in this country. The government promised that the former guerilla fighters would be treated properly under the Humanitarian Attention Program to Demobilization.

    Uribe has made the demobilization of guerrillas in Colombia his top priority. Since he took office on Aug. 7, 2002, 19,288 Colombian rebels have been disarmed.