Suit claims Ala. coal firm funded Colombian terror

[rabs]

Another U.S. company accused of funding murderous paramilitaries.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Relatives of dozens of slain Colombians sued an Alabama-based coal company in federal court Thursday, accusing it of making millions of dollars in payments to a paramilitary group that sowed terror in the South American country.

The suit filed in Birmingham said 67 victims of the The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, also known as AUC, included unionists, farmworkers and others. It claimed the rightwing group received payments from operatives for Drummond allegedly to assassinate top union leaders and protect the company's large coal mine and railroad in Colombia.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jHrndN39F5hsBIEY_xSZVD7ZTyXwD98FGKAG0

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Drummond denies suit's claim about Colombia terror
5 hours ago

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama-based coal company on Friday denied claims made in a lawsuit that it funded a paramilitary group allegedly responsible for dozens of killings in Colombia, where the firm operates a large mine and railroad.

A statement released by the Drummond Company Inc. said the violence has plagued Colombia for decades and Drummond has no connection to it.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jHrndN39F5hsBIEY_xSZVD7ZTyXwD98G723O0