Eight Colombian soldiers were wounded in clashes with suspected FARC guerrillas near the Ecuadorean border, reported French press agency AFP Thursday.
The soldiers from the local army brigade were guarding a jungle area on the border of the Nariño and Putumayo departments. They were “very close to the Ecuadorean town of Sucumbios when they were attacked with grenades by the rebels,” a military commander in the area told AFP.
The commander attributed the attack to the 48th Front of the FARC, which has a strong presence in the border area.
The injured soldiers were taken to a hospital in Mocoa, the capital of Putumayo. One of them, who suffered serious injuries, was transferred by helicopter to a military hospital in the capital Bogota.
The FARC, Colombia’s largest guerirlla group, are estimated to have in between 7,000 and 11,000 fighters. The rebels intensified their attacks in several locations in Colombia in recent weeks, officials said to the news agency.
The Colombian ambassador to Quito announced last week that security on the border area between Colombia and Ecuador will be a priority on the two nations’ diplomatic agenda.