[March 19, 2009] Colombian oil workers ask rebels to stay away Tweet (EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Bogota, Mar 19 (EFE).- Attacks by leftist FARC rebels near oilfields in northeastern Colombia are putting oil workers at risk, the USO union said Thursday. Labor leaders said the incursions coincide with an "armed general strike" promoted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in Arauca province, bordering Venezuela. Union officials described two incidents this week in which rebels fired on the troops who were escorting a convoy carrying workers between Arauca city and the Ca?o Limon oilfield, operated jointly by Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol and U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum. The workers found themselves caught in a crossfire between the soldiers and the guerrillas, according to the USO, which represents employees of Ecopetrol. USO noted that three oil workers died under similar circumstances in December 2003. The union asked both the FARC and the security forces to respect the civilian population and refrain from dragging non-combatants into the conflict. EFE jgh/dr Copyright ? 2009 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]