The alleged FARC guerrillas who carried out Saturday’s attack in southern Colombia, in which a French journalist was apparently injured and taken hostage, were wearing civilian clothes in contravention of international law, according to Colombia’s military.
The Colombian state will now file a complaint with the international community, according to daily El Espectador.
“This is a crime that is expressly against the law, including international humanitarian law,” said Colombian Air Force commander General Tito Saul Pinilla, as he disclosed that security forces had video evidence of guerrillas operating in white shirts, El Espectador reported.
According to Pinilla, the attack was carried out by the FARC’s 15th Front, which is believed to have taken French journalist Romeo Langlois hostage after he was injured in the clash, and reportedly revealed himself as a civilian before approaching the guerrillas.
Langlois had been accompanying the Colombian military in Caqueta Department as part of a report on counternarcotics operations for French television network France 24.
According to Colombia’s Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, the Frenchman was injured in the left arm, before removing his helmet and body armor and moving towards the guerilla unit. The incident left four soldiers dead and six more injured.
France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppe Sunday stated Langlois “was taken prisoner,” but Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos had Monday morning still not made any statement regarding the journalist.
The casualties have been named as Sergeant Jose Cortez Viveros, soldiers Eduardo Manuel Rodriguez Rueda and Ubaldo Manuel Serpa, and police officer Suescun Andres Felipe Rodriguez.