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RIOSUCIO , Colombia, May 26 (UPI) -- A commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as FARC, was killed in a bombing raid near the town of Riosucio on Monday. Alfredo Alarcon Machado, better known as Ramón Ruiz, who led the 18th division of the FARC in northwest Colombia, was killed along with four other rebel members. The Colombian Air Force bombed a rebel position in the Choco province.
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Ruiz is believed to be the main assistant of FARC representative Pastor Alape, who is negotiating with the Colombian government in peace talks in Havana, Cuba.
About 40 rebels have been killed since Colombia resumed bombing attacks after a ceasefire ended.
The FARC is accused of killing 11 Colombian soldiers in April, violating the ceasefire agreement established in December.
FARC formally announced the end to the ceasefire on Thursday.
The leftist rebel group said in a statement it called for an end to the ceasefire after months of "land and air offensives against our structures all over the country."
Although the ceasefire ended, talks for peace in Havana continue. Negotiations began in 2012 and the two sides have agreed on three out of five points in the agenda.
More than 220,000 people have died in the Colombian conflict since the FARC's founding in 1964.
