An attack attributed to Colombia’s largest rebel group FARC derailed on Thursday a Cerrejon coal transporter and caused severe damage to the railway in the northern La Guajira department.
According to reports, some 17 wagons loaded with coal were derailed by explosive charges, which also caused serious damage to the railway itself.
A representative of the Cerrejon mine attributed the attack, registered in the early hours of Thursday morning, to the FARC’s 59th Front, which operates in the border areas between Colombia and Venezuela. The company said coal transporting operations had to be suspended due to the damages.
The suspected rebel attack came two days after worker’s at Colombia’s most productive coal mine announced the end of a month-long strike that lead to a shutdown in production. The strike cost the company some $96 million.
MORE: Cerrejon coal miners sign agreement ending month long strike
On Wednesday, rebels from the smaller ELN rebel group destroyed a section of the Caño Limon-Coveñas oil pipeline in the northern Cesar department, along the border with Norte de Santander department.
Rebel attacks against economic infrastructure have risen dramatically in Colombia. In 2011, 120 such attacks were registered, which had risen to 341 in 2012, according to the conflict monitoring NGO Nuevo Arco Iris.
Sources
- El frente 59 de las Farc dinamito el tren carbonifero del Cerrejon (Caracol Radio)
- Guerrillas dinamitan oleoducto Caño Limon-Coveñas y el tren de El cerrejon (Radio Santa Fe)
- Atentado contra el tren del Cerrejon (El Heraldo)
- Farc triplico ataques para forzar a empresarios a apoyar el proceso de paz: Arco Iris (Caracol Radio)
