Two soldiers were killed and two children seriously injured by a landmine allegedly left by the 18th front of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group the FARC.
The landmine was detonated in a rural area in the north of Colombia’s central north-west Antioquia department.
According to reports the guerrillas apparently triggered the mine with a cell phone, killing the two soldiers and seriously injuring the children aged 11 and 4 years old.
It is expected the children will be evacuated by helicopter to hospital in the nearest large city, Medellin.
The incident follows weeks of violence in the area as a man and a woman were allegedly killed by the FARC in separate attacks on Saturday night, and over the last week the guerrillas, attempted to prevent the transportation of workers and guards to the Ituango hydro-electric dam, resulting in clashes with the army.
MORE: FARC launches series of attacks over the weekend
Land mines continue to plague the Colombian countryside, however the situation is set to improve when British NGO HALO Trust begins operations in April, assuming the Colombian government gives the go-ahead. HALO Trust works in countries around the world to remove land mines from conflict and former conflict areas. It specializes in training locals in the skills necessary to do the work, thus also offering gainful employment to those whose lives have been affected directly or indirectly by land mines.
MORE: Number of land mines in Colombia greatly exaggerated: NGO
Sources
- Muertos dos soldados y heridos dos niños por mina (El Colombiano)