Eduardo Montealegre, the Attorney General of Colombia, has announced that he is investigating 22 generals for their possible ties in the murder of civilians in a notorious scandal involving "false positives."

In the scandal, which came to light in 2008, the bodies of murdered civilians were found to have been passed off as those of FARC (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels or paramilitaries in an effort to inflate combat kill figures.

As of now, 800 members of the security forces have been jailed for their roles in the deadly scandal.

As reported by the BBC, Montealegre stated that he would deliver the results by the end of 2015.

Speaking at the first conference in Colombia for the victims of extra-judicial killings, Montealegre explained that some of the generals were still on active service and that others involved had gone on to retire from their positions.

Montealegre revealed that more than 5,000 members of the security forces had been implicated in the scandal.

The murdered young men used in the “false positive” ruse had been recruited from the slums of Bogota and promised well-paying jobs in the province of Norte de Santander.

Once murdered, their bodies were presented in rebel uniforms as though they had been killed in combat.

Since the scandal broke in 2008, many other cases of "false positives" have surfaced and Colombian prosecutors now currently have thousands of cases on their books.

There were instances in some areas of Colombia where soldiers were even sent out to round up homeless people.

Colombia's willingness to bring to justice members of the armed forces that were involved in the deaths of civilians will be monitored closely by the Farc.

The rebel group, which is currently in peace talks with the government, has stated that Colombia’s willingness to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by its own agents will be central to any reconciliation process to come.