29 killed in Columbia drug war

At least 29 people have been killed in Colombia as drug traffickers fight for control of an organisation set up by Pablo Escobar of the Medellin cartel.



The mafia group was set up by Escobar as an assassination service.



After his death in 1993, it expanded into drugs trafficking and extortion, becoming one of the most feared gangs in the country.



President Alvaro Uribe has ordered the deployment of 500 soldiers to the streets in the most sensitive neighbourhoods in a bid to contain the violence.



The killings reportedly started after a suspected leader of a mafia was arrested on the Caribbean Coast, where he was allegedly running a drug-smuggling operation.



There have also been allegations that one of the heads of the organisation is negotiating a deal with the US Drug Enforcement Administration to turn himself in.