Colombia suspends peace talks with FARC following army general's abduction

BOGOTA, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos suspended peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after an army general was abducted Sunday.

Gen. Ruben Dario Alzate, along with Army Cpl. Jorge Rodriguez Contreras and civilian lawyer Gloria Urrego, was kidnapped Sunday afternoon by armed men in the village of Las Mercedes near the provincial capital of Quibdo.

"This kidnapping is completely unacceptable... The FARC is responsible for the life and the security of these three people," the president said.

Santos also directed his defense minister to explain why the general seemingly breached security protocols when he traveled to the known FARC area as a civilian and without his bodyguards.

The conflict between the government and the FARC began in the 1960s and is considered Latin America's longest running conflict. An estimated 220,000 people have been killed and three million internally displaced by the fighting.

During his inauguration in August, the now two-term president spoke about his determination to end Colombia's decades of conflict and negotiate a peace with the FARC. Peace talks began in Nov. 2012 and have been suspended once before, in August 2013.

The FARC has not yet commented on the abduction or the president's decision to suspend the peace talks.