Shaken by bombing, Colombia pushes on with peace drive

A deadly mall bombing and the kidnapping of foreign journalists have laid bare the dangers facing Colombia even as its biggest rebel group today launched the final phase of its disarmament.
The demobilization of the leftist FARC under a peace accord with the government and peace talks with the last active rebel force, the ELN, are meant to end more than half a century of violence.
But just as the FARC entered the final stretch in its long march to peace, reminders of the old conflict erupted in recent days, raising concerns for the contested peace drive.
Three women were killed and nine people injured in Saturday night's bombing at a crowded shopping center in Bogota.

Authorities and rebel leaders condemned it as a bid to disrupt the peace process.
Analyst Beatriz Rettberg of the University of the Andes cited the bombing and ongoing violence involving drug gangs as lingering "difficulties" for the peace drive.
"There is clear and strong opposition to the peace process and the accord," she said.