Nationwide protests against rebels

Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched against leftist rebels accused last week of killing 11 provincial lawmakers they held hostage for five years.

Demonstrators took to the streets in major cities and small towns, aiming their outrage at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has long used kidnapping as a tool of war against the state.

Public employees were given the day off to participate in the march, during which many called for a swap of other FARC hostages for guerrillas held in government prisons.

But the government and the FARC appeared unlikely to start talks that might lead to such an exchange.