Local authorities accused guerrilla group ELN of carrying out an attack on a military base in northern Colombia that injured 12 soldiers.
The attack on the compound of the local infantry battalion in Riohacha, the capital of La Guajira, was initially reported by the National Army.
In a brief press statement, the army condemned the mortar attack that injured the soldiers and destroyed much of the entry of the base.
The army said that it informed “the competent authorities to carry out the corresponding investigations” and vowed that they were working “in coordination with the National Police and other authorities to ensure the safety of citizens and identify those responsible for the attack.”
In an interview with Caracol Radio, La Guajira Government Secretary Misael Velasquez said that the mortars that damaged the base and injured the soldiers were launched from a vehicle that had been parked between 350 and 400 meters from the base.
According to Velasquez, “reports we received” suggest that the ELN carried out the attack in retaliation of the arrest of several guerrilla suspects in Riohacha and Maicao, a city on the border with Venezuela.
Velasquez said none of the wounded soldiers were injured seriously and received treatment at the base and in the local hospital.
There are some injuries caused by shrapnel from the explosives and also due to where they were stationed on guard duty, but none are serious. The injured are being treated by doctors at the battalion and here at the Riohacha hospital, where they received care, but thank God there are no serious injuries.
La Guajira Government Secretary Misael Velasquez
The ELN did not immediately take responsibility for the attack, which took place well outside their strongholds in the Cesar and Norte de Santander provinces.
The guerrilla group vowed to cease fire unilaterally between May 30 and June 2 to prevent interference with the presidential elections that will be held on Sunday.
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