Colombian group FARC 'not defeated'

Claims by the Colombian government that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is almost defeated are false, according to the sole survivor of an attack by the army which killed the leader of the leftist resistance group.

In an exclusive interview to Al Jazeera, Tomas Garcia, the only man to survive the November 4 military assault which killed FARC's top commander Alfonso Cano, said the government is lying to the people.

"They should be honest with what is going on," Garcia, a body-guard of the now deceased leader, said. "They don't want to acknowledge that we are still a force. In some areas we have units with 300 and 400 men."

The death of Cano was viewed by many as a major blow to FARC, with the hopes of pushing the armed group to start peace talks.

Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo reports.