Colombia says it killed 23 members of armed groups, including one leader, in Arauca

A bombardment carried out byColombia'sarmedforceskilled23FARC dissidents on Thursday as part of a military offensive to seize control of an area in the northeast of the country which sits on the border with Venezuela, the government said.

Dissidentmembersof the demobilised RevolutionaryArmedForces ofColombia(FARC) reject a 2016 peace deal with the government. The dissidents have become a security threat, according to the government, which accuses them of murdering communityleaders and civilians.

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Military planes and helicopters took part in the bombardment in the municipality of Puerto Rondon, inColombia'sAraucaprovince, according to Defence Minister Diego Molano. He said Jorge Eliecer Jimenez, known as Arturo, the FARC dissident commander inArauca, was among the dead.

"ColombiaandAraucahave been liberated from a criminal, from a FARC-dissidentleaderof the FARC dissidents to bring more security, more peace, and better protect the people ofArauca," Molano said in a news conference at the site of the operation.

Arauca, which plays an important role inColombia's oil and cattle ranching industries, has seen growing violence in which more than 60 people have died so far this year, according toColombia's human rights ombudsman.

FARC dissidents allied with the leftist-guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN) are fighting for control of drug-trafficking in the region against a rival FARC dissident group led by Arturo.

The government in Bogota accuses Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro of harbouring FARC dissidents andmembersof the ELN who cross the border to launch attacks inColombia, something Maduro has repeatedly denied.