( Spanish) – Attacks that authorities attributed to dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) left at least 17 people injured this Saturday in the town of El Plateado, in the department of Cauca, reported the Ombudsman’s Office of the South American country.
In a message on its X account, the institution condemned the acts of violence and demanded that the civilian population be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Separately, the Army indicated that the attacks by the “Carlos Patiño” structure of the FARC were a response to the Perseo operation that the Armed Forces, the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office deployed this Saturday to regain control of El Plateado.
“All means are integrated precisely to recover a population center of more than 8,000 inhabitants that was controlled by FARC dissident structures,” said General Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría, Army commander, in a video published on X.
“The instruction of the President of the Republic (Gustavo Petro) to restore the tranquility of the population of El Plateado has been clear, and this is a phase of that great military operation that has been planned,” he added.
Later, the Army reported that two alleged members of the “Carlos Patiño” structure were detained with rifles, ammunition and explosive devices.
President Petro, meanwhile, also referred to what happened. In his X account he said that if the FARC dissidents bomb civilians this “obliges us, by the principle of proportionality, to bomb their forces.”
He added that he and his cabinet will go to El Plateado to activate programs that combat illegal economies that, according to authorities, allow FARC dissidents to continue obtaining resources.
Since assuming the presidency in August 2022, Petro has announced measures that seek to pacify the country. However, throughout this period tensions have been constant between his Government and armed groups.
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