EU Urges Colombia's FARC to 'Immediately' Free General

The EU on Monday urged Colombian rebel group the FARC to "immediately and unconditionally" free a general and two others the movement is suspected of having abducted, causing the suspension of peace talks.

General Ruben Alzate, an army corporal and a lawyer went missing Sunday in an area where leftist FARC rebels are active, with suspected responsibility for the incident widely falling on the group.

In a statement after the government in Bogota halted the talks, the EU called on the FARC "to free their hostages immediately and unconditionally so as to allow an early resumption of the negotiations."

It said the incident "seriously put at risk the continuation" of the peace talks.

The FARC has been in dialogue with Colombian government negotiators in an attempt to broker a deal to end a five-decade-long conflict.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Sunday suspended the two-year peace talks, which are being held in Cuba, pending a military investigation into the affair.

The incident comes just days after a visit by Santos to Brussels where the European Union threw all its support behind the peace talks.

Colombia's internal conflict has left 220,000 dead and displaced 5.3 million people over the past 50 years, according to official figures.

Last month, in an important sign of progress, the FARC acknowledged for the first time that its actions had affected civilians.

The rebel group said it had never targeted civilians but admitted they had been harmed through the excessive use of force or mistakes.

The EU describes Colombia as one of its "most important and trusted partners in Latin America," with relations improving steadily in recent years.