BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — One Colombian soldier was killed and one other injured Thursday in clashes with guerrilla dissidents in a coca-growing area the place their turf battle with a insurgent group has left dozens of individuals lifeless this 12 months.
A press release from an anti-narcotics department of Colombia’s Nationwide Military mentioned the troopers had been finishing up “navy stability operations” once they “engaged in fight towards” holdouts from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the group’s Spanish acronym.
It was not instantly clear what prompted the soldier’s loss of life. The military within the assertion blamed an improvised explosive system for the wounded soldier’s accidents.
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Two dissidents had been additionally injured. The military didn’t clarify their situation.
The clashes come lower than a month after President Gustavo Petro’s issued a decree giving him emergency powers to revive order within the area that borders Venezuela, together with by curfews and different steps that may usually violate Colombians’ civil rights or require congressional approval.
The battle within the rural Catatumbo area, the place the Colombian state has struggled for many years to achieve a foothold, has left greater than 60 folks lifeless and at the least 50,000 others displaced as combating intensified between members of the Nationwide Liberation Military, or ELN, and holdouts from the FARC, a guerrilla group that largely disbanded after signing a peace deal in 2016 with the federal government.
The world is vital for drug trafficking, the smuggling of products and different cross-border illicit actions. It has round 300,000 residents and produces 15% of Colombia’s coca crop.
An explosive devise additionally severely injured a police officer Thursday within the metropolis of Cucuta, which is adjoining to the Catatumbo area. William Quintero, commander of the Metropolitan Police of Cucuta, instructed reporters shrapnel wounded the officer after the system was thrown at a police station.
Quintero mentioned explosive gadgets detonated at two different police stations stations and a toll sales space. He mentioned authorities haven’t recognized the particular person or group behind the assaults and are providing greater than $24,000 as a reward for data that results in arrests.
Quintero added the most recent escalation of violence coincides with “notable dates for the ELN,” together with the anniversary of the loss of life of Camilo Torres, a priest who was a part of the group.
