Colombia's Foreign Ministry, in a Sunday statement, formally denied violating Ecuador's sovereignty in a Saturday operation that killed the number two in the nation's largest armed rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
"Colombia did not violate Ecuador's sovereignty, instead it acted in line with the principle of legitimate self-defense," said the statement. "Terrorists have been killing in Colombia and invading neighboring nations to take refuge," it added.
The ministry said it would respond formally to Ecuador's diplomatic note of protest about the incident, in a later joint statement with the Defense Ministry.
Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, formally denounced Saturday's military action as "the worst aggression suffered by Ecuador."
FARC number two Luis Edgar Devia Silva, better known by the alias Raul Reyes, died 1.8 kilometers from the border, in an attack that killed 16 more FARC fighters. Correa has recalled Ecuador's ambassador in Colombia, Francisco Suscum.
Venezuela, Colombia's neighbor to the east, has closed its embassy in Colombia and sent troops to its border with Colombia, in support of Ecuador.
Source:Xinhua
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