FARC, ELN have less than 10,000 members: government

Colombian guerrilla groups FARC and ELN were reduced in size from a joint 24,000 members in 2002 to 9,500 members in 2010, the country’s defense minister said Saturday.

According to the minister, the FARC went from 20,000 to 8,000 guerrillas while the ELN went from 4,000 to 1,500 guerrillas.

Silva said the reduction of the rebel groups is the result of “the strength of the security forces” under President Alvaro Uribe’s “Democratic Security” policy.

22,500 guerrillas voluntarily surrendered over the past eight years, the minister said.