The Ecuadorian military on Tuesday repelled an incursion into Ecuadorian territory by one of Colombia’s illegal armed groups.
The alleged incident occurred in the Amazon region of the Ecuadorian province of Sucumbios which, borders Colombia’s Putumayo department in the country’s south.
Ecuador’s joint command released a statement on Wednesday regarding the incident, which stated that the armed group fled their camp after detecting the presence of the military, leaving explosives, communications and other equipment, medicines, and “subversive doctrine texts.”
This was the second incident in which the military encountered an armed group in Ecuadorian territory in the past week. The first occurred on March 23, in the same Ecuadorian province. Again, the armed group escaped and there were no casualties.
The identity of the armed group has not been released.
Such incursions are not uncommon, and recently the Ecuadorian and Colombian governments signed an agreement to enhance cooperation to more effectively combat crime along the border between the two countries.
MORE: Colombia signs an agreement with Ecuador to coordinate border security
Sources
- Patrol Ecuatoriana repele a posibles elementos de grupos ilegales armados de Colombia (Comando conjunto de las fuerzas armadas del Ecuador)
- Ecuador denuncia nuevo hostigamiento de grupo ilegal colombiano en su territorio (Radio Caracol)
- Militares de Ecuador repelen una nueva incursion de un grupo ilegal armado colombiano (Yahoo News)
