Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called the FARC “hypocrites” Thursday for committing “terrorist acts” weeks after raising the prospect of peace talks.
“[FARC’s behaviour] is a double game, double morals, it doesn’t understand anyone,” said the state leader, speaking after suspected FARC attacks across Colombia killed at least 15 people and injured more than a hundred.
Following a security council meeting in the Pacific town of Tumaco, where a bomb planted in a tricycle killed nine people and wounded 76 outside a police station on Thursday, Santos said such violence, “rejects everyone and it moves us away from any possibility of peace.”
Two police stations were attacked Wednesday and Thursday in bomb attacks the government immediately attributed to the FARC, though police said it was too early to assign blame.
A 3-year-old girl, a 19-year-woman and a police commander were among the six people killed in in the second attack, in the western town of Villa Rica, said state health chief Oscar Ospina. More than 20 were injured.
Following the security council meeting President Santos sent 300 extra police to the town, and offered a reward of $668,000 for the capture of FARC rebel “Rambo,” believed to be responsible.
The guerrillas were trying to intimidate and “weaken” the government, said Santos, but the acts would have the opposite effect. In a statement on the presidential website, he said, “With these acts what they do is harden the government, harden the army, because it commands more conviction and more determination in the struggle against terrorism.”