Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reports that the average age of FARC guerrilla fighters in the department of Tolima is 13.

A Colombian army representative says the guerrilla movement is using such young fighters because it is losing more and more of its members: they are either killed in combat or taken prisoner by government forces.

The paper says the child soldiers, some as young as eight, are not just being used for simple tasks but also to gather information.

Tolima, which lies in the centre-west of the country, is one of the regions in which the FARC movement originated.

Photo of anti-FARC protest in Bogotá by pattoncito (flickr)