The national mourning period in honor of the slain soldiers will run through Monday

The national mourning period in honor of the slain soldiers will run through Monday

 RAUL ARBOLEDA

Ecuador's president declared three days of national mourning starting Saturday over the deaths of 11 soldiers who the army said were killed by dissident FARC guerrillas in an ambush near the Colombian border.

The attack on Friday comes amid a spike in violence in both nations linked to the trafficking of cocaine produced in Colombia and exported through Ecuadoran ports to the United States and Europe.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.