Rebels relax, play soccer as conflict winds down

Behaving as laid-back, sport-loving youths was unthinkable months ago

It could be a sandlot soccer field almost anywhere in rural Colombia: flattened earth carved from the jungle with lopsided goalposts made of tree trunks painted in the colors of the country's flag.

But this is no ordinary pick-up game. The players are Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas, and in behaving like laid-back, sport-loving youths, they're taking security risks that would've been unthinkable just months ago.