Rebel attack on northeast Colombia oil pipeline repair crew

(Photo: Unipymes)

An unidentified rebel group torched a truck and lowbed trailer in Colombia’s violence-ridden northeast, Caracol Radio reported on Monday.

According to the radio station, armed men intimidated a work crew and burnt their vehicle on a road in the municipality of  Teorama, located in the troubled Catatumbo region where rebel groups like the FARC and ELN are highly active along with drug trafficking organizations like the EPL and the “Urabeños.”

The machinery operators had come to the area to make repairs on a section of the oil infrastructure that had been attacked by insurgents.

Authorities say they are seeking to find out which illegal armed group performed the attack. No group has yet claimed responsibility.

One of the guerrilla groups active in the area, ELN, last year “declared war” on multinational oil companies, “plundering” the country’s natural resources.

MORE: ELN declares war on oil companies

The region has also been more unstable recently because of the ongoing unrest in neighboring Venezuela.

MORE: Angry residents shut down northeast Colombia border city

Teorama, Norte de Santander

Sources

Guerrilla incinera maquinaria de Ecopetrol en Norte de Santander (Caracol Radio)

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