( Spanish) – Five soldiers died this Thursday after an attack with explosives attributed to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla in the municipality of Anorí, in the department of Antioquia, the Colombian Army reported in a statement.
The uniformed men were attacked when they were guarding a group of former guerrillas, said the Army, which blamed the “Darío Ramírez Castro War Front” of the ELN for these events.
Initially, the attack caused the death of four soldiers and injured four others and one civilian. A fifth soldier died hours later, the Army detailed.
The institution added that it will file criminal complaints for these events, which it considered a “flagrant violation of human rights and infractions of international humanitarian law.”
Separately, in statements to the media, Colombia’s Interior Minister, Juan Fernando Cristo, expressed “total rejection” of the ELN attack and said that this action “demonstrates once again that they are not interested in peace.”
contacted the ELN delegation participating in peace talks with the Government of Colombia for comment and is awaiting a response.
The attack in Antioquia occurs in a context of tensions between the Government of President Gustavo Petro and the ELN, which in recent weeks have accused each other of a lack of will to advance a peace process. The Government has said that it will reinforce security operations to prevent acts of violence by the ELN.
Add Comment