Rights groups allege Colombian atrocities

"While the secretary of State certifies sufficient progress on human rights in Colombia, multiple sources report that unlawful killings by the Colombian army are continuing despite efforts by the minister of defense to stop it," he said in an e-mailed statement. "After providing billions of dollars in training and equipment to the Colombian army, we should expect better, including vigorous investigations and prosecutions of these crimes."

In a recent interview, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos acknowledged that human rights were the "Achilles' heel" of his military forces. Since taking office two years ago, he said, he has made improving that record a priority, resulting in a comprehensive human rights policy he unveiled in January.

"Now we can see that the military has a human rights concept different than before in its relation to society and individual citizens, because they know perfectly well that their legitimacy depends on support from the people," Santos said.

Without challenging the figures, a U.S. government official in the embassy in Bogota, the capital, said such numbers were only "examples among a wide variety of statistics" gathered by various civil society groups that monitor human rights in Colombia.

"At the end of the day, Colombia has made enormous strides under the Uribe administration to address this crucial human rights issue," said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "We applaud the progress while acknowledging that the situation is not yet perfect."

With U.S. input, the Colombian military command issued a number of human rights- oriented directives last year, including changes in the code of conduct and "rules of engagement" -- the circumstances under which soldiers can fire on perceived enemies.

One, in an effort to battle impunity, gives civilian investigators more powers in examining killings. Another made captures and demobilizations of rebels, not body counts, the primary measure of an officer's battlefield competence and the basis for points for promotion.

Since a British review found that Colombian human rights training was too much theory and not enough practice, the military has begun requiring soldiers to spend more time funneling through the "human rights trail," including one at Colombia's largest military base, called Tolemaida, 70 miles south of the capital.