by Our Foreign Desk

COLOMBIAN President Juan Manuel Santos ordered air raids against rebel Farc camps on Wednesday after an attack by guerillas killed 11 soldiers and wounded 19 others.

But President Santos gave no indication the government was thinking of pulling out of peace negotiations with the group, saying the bloodshed underlined a need to end Colombia’s half-century conflict.

The attack, which Farc said was in response to a “permanent offensive by government troops against our units,” occurred around midnight on Tuesday in the south-west Cauca region.

An army platoon sleeping in a covered sports pavilion was surprised by guerillas firing homemade explosives and grenades.

President Santos condemned what he said was a premeditated attack and not the result of any army incursion.

“I’m not going to let myself be pressured by vile acts like this,” he warned.

The rebel movement responded by demanding the government initiates its own ceasefire and urging Colombia’s leaders to “keep cool” and avoid “ill-considered actions that could jeopardise the progress of peace talks.

Farc negotiators committed to a unilateral ceasefire at Havana peace talks in December, to promote discussions that have continued over the past two years, saying rebels would fire weapons only if attacked by the military.

Last month, both sides agreed on a plan to begin jointly removing unexploded landmines that litter large parts of the countryside.

Soon afterward, the government suspended aerial bombings of guerilla camps, an order that was extended earlier this month.