Bogota  - Colombian rebels accidentally killed 11 abducted lawmakers in 2007, a former hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said.

Sigifredo Lopez, a Colombian lawmaker who was abducted together with the 11 victims in 2002 in Cali, said Thursday that the leftist rebels had killed the politicians out of "persecution mania" after they had confused another rebel unit with the army.

"My companions never deserved to die the way they did," the 45-year-old said immediately after his released Thursday, laying the blame firmly at FARC's feet. "The FARC massacred them on June 18, 2007."

Lopez, a former parliamentarian from Colombia's south-western province of Valla del Cauca, said he only survived because the rebels separated him from the other hostages a short time before the killings to punish him for arguing with a guard.

"I only survived because of almighty God," he said. "They separated me from the others to punish me."

The FARC had claimed the hostages were killed in a shootout with another, unidentified armed group. The 11 hostages had been shot from close quarters. Lopez's information correlates with forensic examinations of the bodies, which were handed over to the Colombian authorities.

The rebels had threatened to execute their hostages in case of rescue attempts by the army.

Lopez was the last prominent politician to be released by FARC, which is still believed to hold about 20 police and military officers. (dpa)