Ecuador severs ties with Colombia

QUITO, Ecuador, March 3 (UPI) -- Ecuador has broken diplomatic ties with Colombia in the wake of the killing of a Colombian rebel leader inside Ecuadorian territory.

Ecuadorian officials said Monday they would "sever all diplomatic relations" with Colombia due to the killing, El Comercio reported online.

Quito also announced it was sending troops to its border with Colombia.

Raul Reyes, the leader of Colombia's largest leftist rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and 16 members of the rebel group were killed by Colombian forces about one mile inside Ecuadorian territory, where the rebel group had established a camp.

The FARC have been battling Colombian forces for more than 40 years.