Rare admission: Colombian military's 10 retired soldiers confess to killing 120 civilians

In a rare public admission, retired soldiers of Colombia's military have confessed to murdering civilians and presenting them as rebels killed in fighting.

The 10 retired members made the admission on Tuesday in front of family members of the victims for their role in the elimination of 120 civilians.

In the case, a general, four colonels and five officers along with a civilian will make confessions soon, an AFP report said.

The case is being heard by a special tribunal, which came up after the peace deal in 2016. It had also marked the ending of a half century of conflict between the government forces and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

The 'false positives' scandal, which saw many civilians getting murdered in cold blood and passed off as enemy warriors, has caused ripples in Colombia.

"I ask you to clear our family names ... they were rural workers, not subversives, guerrillas and thugs as they were branded," said Eduvina Becerra, partner of Jose Ortega, a murdered farmer.

The hearing of Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) is taking place in Ocana.

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Around 50 family members of the victims reached the university theater to witness the proceedings. The soldiers gave details about the killings as victims’ sobbing family members listened.

"I acknowledge and accept my responsibility as co-perpetrator" of the murders, which were carried out from 2007 to 2008, said Nestor Gutierrez, a former non-commissioned officer in the army.

"We murdered innocent people, peasants," added Gutierrez. He also promised to "clarify it here before the judgment, before the world, before the country."

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(With inputs from agencies)