FARC guerillas armed with Swedish weapons

The Colombian rebel group the FARC is in possession of advanced weaponry manufactured by the Swedish firm Saab Bofors Dynamics, according to a report in the Colombian weekly newspaper Semana.

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The anti-tank AT-4 weapons have been sold to countries such as the USA and a raft of NATO member states, as well Colombian neighbour Venezuela.

It was in connection with Colombian army raids on the FARC guerilla bases in July and October 2008 that the Swedish-made weapons were discovered, the newspaper reports.

The Colombian government then contacted Saab Bofors who could confirm that the weapons had originally been sold to the Venezuelan army.

"It is extremely unfortunate that this has occurred, although this is out of our control. Our client is the Venezuelan army. Saab always acts in accordance with Swedish law and international regulations regarding the sale of defence materials," a representative for the Swedish firm is quoted by the newspaper as saying.

How the state of the art weapons fell into the hands of the FARC remains a mystery as the Venezualan government, despite promising the Colombian government to look into the issue, has not yet been able to shed light on the circumstances.

Semana maintains that there are strong grounds to suspect that two generals, who are part of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's inner circle, have provided the Farc with the Swedish weapons.

The AT-4 weapons are described as one of the world's most advanced anti-tank weapons, easy to carry, easy to use and very effective.