Female Colombian Snipers 'Fighting To Defend Gaddafi'

Mercenaries fighting for Col Gaddafi's regime are reportedly being paid up to $1,000 a day Photo: REX


Female Colombian snipers suspected of belonging to the Marxist guerilla group FARC are fighting as mercenaries defending Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, according to rebel forces.

By Robin Yapp, Sao Paulo
7:11PM BST 14 Apr 2011
Courtesy Of "The Telegraph"

Prisoners loyal to Col Gaddafi and eyewitnesses in Misurata, the largest city in western Libya partially under rebel control, have given accounts of highly-trained women snipers from the South American country operating in the area.

Mercenaries fighting for Col Gaddafi's regime are reportedly being paid up to $1,000 a day.

None of the Colombians have yet been captured or killed but according to rebels they are part of a wider force of snipers basing themselves on high buildings in Misurata.

The female fighters are likely to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has been fighting Colombia's government since the 1960s.

Information found on computers belonging to Raul Reyes, a FARC commander killed by Colombian soldiers in 2008, indicated that the guerilla group has long-standing links to Libya.

Investigators found a letter dated September 4 2000 addressed to 'Comrade Colonel Muammar Gaddafi', which requested a five-year loan of $100m to buy weapons such as surface-to-air missiles.

Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president, said recently that it is "clear ... that [FARC] still has connections to Gaddafi."

In an interview he told the German magazine Der Spiegel that Libya had offered FARC $300m but admitted he did not know if the money had ever been received.

Rebels in Libya claim they have evidence that Col Gaddafi has also received assistance from mercenaries or supporters originating from countries as diverse as Algeria, Belarus and Chad.