A Colombian tribunal on Thursday issued its first sentences for former soldiers over the killing of civilians during the country's decades-long armed conflict, ordering 12 of them to carry out work including building memorials for their victims.

The retired military personnel, who had falsely tallied the civilians as leftist guerrilla fighters killed in combat, were sentenced to do reparations for the families of 135 victims for a total of eight years each.

It is the highest sentence that can be handed down by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace for people who cooperate and acknowledge guilt.

The tribunal known by its Spanish acronym JEP was set up under a landmark 2016 agreement that saw the FARC guerrilla group lay down arms.

The 12, including two colonels, acknowledged their role in

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