Colombian army denies pushing officers to increase rebels number

The head of the Colombian army denied Monday that he has put pressure on his senior officers to significantly increase the number of rebels or members of the cartels killed or captured during military operations.
This denial follows the publication of a New York Times article this weekend in which military sources claim that the army has ordered the number of dead or arrested guerrillas or criminals to double, at the risk of increasing collateral damage and civilian casualties.
"I did not exert any pressure," the commander of the national army, General Nicacio de Jesus Martinez, told the press. "No battalion commander has been relieved of his duties because of his results."........