El Salvador to give pensions to ex-rebel fighters

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) ? El Salvador's government is giving $50-per-month pensions to thousands of elderly former leftist rebels who fought in the country's 1980-1992 civil war.

The office of President Mauricio Funes says more than 2,600 former rebels over age 70 will get the pension.

A survey has identified 25,401 former combatants of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front who are still alive. Nearly 90 percent of them are living in poverty.

A Friday statement from Presidential aide Alex Segovia says that "we know it is not enough."

The rebel movement transformed into a political party following the 1992 peace accords that ended the war. In 2009, it ran Funes for president although he was not a member of the party and didn't fight in the war.

(This version CORRECTS 5th paragraph to say Funes was not a member of the party, rather than 'is not.')

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-03-16-LT-Salvador-Rebel-Pensions/id-7fc6fbd7fb564127908d8d8f1bb4b72b

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