A UN human rights watchdog on Sunday condemned the murder of two policemen by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla over the weekend, and requested the rebel group to hand over those responsible for the crime.

"They should hand over those militiamen responsible to the Attorney General's Office to carry out the process of investigation, prosecution and the corresponding punishment," according to a statement issued by the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights's country office.

The FARC had admitted through a statement released on Saturday about the kidnapping and murder of two policemen named German Mendez and Edilmer Munoz, alleging they had to kill them because of the strong offensive by the security forces that tried to rescue the two officers.

The UN watchdog said that FARC's acknowledgment is an important step, and that it is also necessary for the guerrilla group to take measures to fully respect international humanitarian law.

The request of the UN joins the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' who condemned on Sunday the violent act, describing it as a war crime and a serious violation of human rights.

This action would not go unpunished, he said, adding that he has ordered Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon to step up actions to chase those responsible.

The National Police (NP) confirmed that the victims are patrol officer Edilmer Munoz Ortiz, 28, and major German Olinto Mendez Pabon, 33. The bodies of the police officers had been found near a river in a rural area of Tumaco municipality.

The police had launched an operation to track the attackers and the government was offering a 100-million Colombian pesos (50,000 US dollars) reward.

The Colombian Congress' Peace Commission also condemned the murder and expressed its concern that this might affect the ongoing peace talks in Havana, Cuba.

Santos' government has been engaged in peace talks in Havana with the FARC, Colombia's oldest and largest guerrilla group, since November 2012.

Source: agencies