[I read an article in the last few days that said the recent ttacks in Colmbia bear all the hallmarks of IRA training.]

Colombia Declares State of Emergency Amid Violence August 12, 2002 02:00 AM ET

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia's new President Alvaro Uribe declared a state of emergency Monday to fight what the government described as a "regime of terror" following a surge of war violence.

Uribe, who took office Wednesday accompanied by a salvo of leftist rebel mortar shells in Bogota that killed 20 civilians, also decreed an emergency tax to allow the government raise $778.5 million to fund a military build-up.

"The government has decided tonight to declare the state of emergency," Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londono told reporters during a news conference in the capital Bogota. Londono did not give specifics about what the state of emergency would entail.

The crisis measures, effective immediately, were announced early Monday after a day-long Cabinet meeting called to discuss an escalation of violence that has left 100 dead since Uribe took office.

Colombia is gripped by a 38-year-old war that pits leftist rebels against outlawed paramilitary fighters and the military. The war claims the lives of thousands of people every year. Uribe swept to power on promises to boost military spending to crack down on illegal armed groups and restore law and order.

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2002