BOGOTA, July 13 (Reuters) - At least 34 people, including Marxist rebels
                  and civilians, have died in the latest wave of politically motivated violence
                  across Colombia, authorities said on Monday.

                  Army commander Gen. Mario Hugo Galan said his men killed some 25
                  Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas near the town
                  of Vista Hermosa in eastern Meta province over the weekend.

                  Only a handful of the bodies were recovered and there was no independent
                  word on the death toll, which if confirmed would be one of the heaviest
                  defeats dealt to the rebels this year.

                  The battle flared when troops moved in to destroy a rebel camp and a
                  clandestine drug laboratory, capable of producing as much as 880 pounds
                  (400 kg) of cocaine a week, Galan said at a morning press conference.

                  In a separate incident near the town of Sabanalarga in northwest Antioquia
                  province, a gang of suspected right-wing paramilitary gunmen killed nine
                  peasants and forced 250 others to flee their homes. Police were unable to
                  say whether the massacre took place Saturday or Sunday.

                  The latest killings came amid growing optimism that Colombia's estimated
                  20,000 rebels are preparing to launch peace talks with the incoming
                  government of president-elect Andres Pastrana.

                  FARC leaders met Pastrana in a jungle camp last week, while
                  representatives of the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) were holding
                  three days of talks with business, labour and church leaders in Mainz,
                  Germany, this week in a bid to pave the way for future negotiations.

                  .