Farc fighter known as 'The Nurse' arrested in Spain over forced abortions of 150 women

Many of the women are believed to have been minors

Picture of a badge on the arm of member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas (Getty)

Spanish police have arrested a man accused of carrying out more than 150 cases of forced abortion on women fighting for Colomiba's largest rebel force.

Hector Albeidis Arboleda was captured in Madrid. He is also known as "The Nurse and "The Medic".

Colombian officials had asked Interpol to issue an international wanted alert after it was revealed he was linked to abortions in the female Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

The women were forced to have abortions “in order to not lose them as instruments of war”, Yahoo reported Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre as saying.

It is believed that the current figure of forced abortions carried out by Arboleda stands at over 150, with many of them being carried out on minors.

Arboleda is accused of torture, performing non-consensual abortions and aggravated conspiracy.

Prosecutors will seek to have Arboleda extradited from Spain.

Abortion is currently illegal in Colombia, except in cases of rape, foetal malformation or if the mother’s life is in danger.