A squad of government troops entered the main town in a former rebel stronghold at dawn on Saturday, pulled down a rebel flag in the central plaza and dumped it into a trash can. There was no fanfare as the soldiers, clad in camouflage fatigues and wielding assault rifles, quietly snaked into town in patrol formation.
Roosters crowed and a church bell rang at 6 am as residents woke up to the presence of government troops in this town in the lowlands of Colombia. It makes me a little afraid, because they might ask me if I'm a guerrilla," said Isabel Matallana, a maid, as she quietly watched the soldiers take up positions in the plaza.

One soldier pulled down a rebel flag from the plaza's flagpole.
"This is a disrespect to Colombia," said Pvt. Daladier Torres. "This flag belongs in the trash," he said, throwing the flag down. Government troops captured a former army base Friday and moved toward San Vicente and four other towns inside the rebel stronghold in southern Colombia amid growing fears that civilians could be caught in the cross fire or forced to evacuate the area. Neighboring countries went on alert for refugee flows. Bureau Report