BOGOTA, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe asked his Venezuela counterpart to help maintain security along their shared border after unknown attackers killed seven.
Last week, six Venezuelan soldiers and an engineer from the nation's state oil company were slain while inspecting a western oil field. At the time, military officials speculated the attackers were either left-wing rebels or right-wing paramilitaries.
Both groups have been known to cross the nations' shared border and attack Venezuelan soldiers and civilians, sometimes taking them hostage for ransom.
"We have this problem ... I trust that Venezuelan President (Hugo) Chavez will help up overcome it," said Uribe Friday.
On Thursday Chavez said that Colombia should take the lead in dealing with insurgent attacks originating from his borders and did not want to involve Venezuelan troops in in the matter.
Relations between Colombian and Venezuela have been acrimonious recent years.
Colombia's government has accused Chavez of supporting leftist rebels including the nation's largest group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, while the Venezuelan president in turn alleges paramilitaries have participated in plots to overthrow his government.
