Twelve reported attacks from Colombian guerrilla groups FARC and ELN have resulted in six dead and eight injured so far this week as war-related violence continues across the country.
Two police and one civilian were killed and one other civilian injured in a shooting at a hair salon routinely frequented by members of the police and military on Tuesday. The army said that two FARC guerrillas carried out the attack in Tibu, Norte de Santander.
On Wednesday, two other policemen were killed while driving a patrol car in Baraya, Huila. The dead were commander of a local police station a patrolman. The two were attacked with long-range weapons in an incident that police have attributed to the FARC.
A soldier died on Wednesday after stepping on a landmine in Angostura, Antioquia. Four others were injured in an incident that authorities have publicly condemned the FARC guerrillas for.
Another policeman was injured when presumed FARC guerrillas threw a grenade at the police station in Gaupi, Cauca. The municipality has seen mass displacement since the army killed 27 rebels in an airstrike on May 21 and heavy fighting subsequently broke out.
Two civilians were injured on Tuesday in combat between the army and FARC in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca. The injured reportedly were caught in crossfire. the National Army’s Third Brigade ordered the opening of investigations to bring clarity to the incident.
In the early hours of Monday, an explosive device was activated on the road between Granada and Puerto Lleras in the province of Meta, destroying a causeway road and restricting traffic. Authorities attributed this attack to the FARC, which has a strong presence in the region.
In Yarumal, Antioquia on Tuesday, alleged FARC rebels again destroyed a bus on the road connecting Medellin to the Caribbean cost. This then resulted in fighting between the Colombian army and guerrillas, there were no reported injuries.
The Bicentenario oil pipeline was attacked by alleged ELN rebels on four different locations in Fortul and Saravena, two municipalities in the Arauca province on Tuesday. No oil was spilled as crude oil pumping had already been suspended. A fourth attack targeted the Caño Limon-Coveñas pipeline on Wednesday. State-run oil company Ecopetrol blamed the FARC for this attack.
Despite the recent uptick in violence, negotiations between the government and the FARC continue in Havana.
The rebels and the government have since the beginning of the talks in November 2012 signed partial agreements on political participation, rural reform and the FARC’s abandoning of drug trafficking.
Before an eventual deal to end more than 50 years of conflict is signed, the negotiating teams in Havana, Cuba will have to agree on two more agenda points: Victims and End of Conflict.
These negotiations have been slow as neither party seems to know how to adequately punish war crimes committed by both parties in the past five decades and how to compensate the more than 7 million victims of the violence.
Sources
Con explosivos Farc destruyó parte de carretera Granada-Puerto Lleras, en Meta (Blu Radio)
Farc atravesaron bus con explosivos en la vía Yarumal-Campamento, Antioquia (Caracol Radio)
Un soldado murió al pisar una mina antipersona en Angostura, Antioquia (Caracol Radio)
Plan pistola de las Farc en Baraya dejó dos policías muertos (La Nacion)
Farc asesinaron al comandante de policía de Baraya, Huila (El Espectador)
Farc atravesaron bus con explosivos en la vía Yarumal-Campamento, Antioquia (Caracol Radio)
Farc habría cargado con explosivos bus que cubría ruta al norte de Antioquia (Blu Radio)
Farc asesinan a patrullero de la policía en Norte de Santander (El Espectador)
Dos civiles heridos tras combates entre Ejército y Farc en el Cauca (El Espectador)
Tres atentados reportan en Oleoducto Bicentenario en Arauca (Caracol Radio)
Nuevo atentado contra el oleoducto Caño Limón-Coveñas (El Colombiano)