Security forces in the southwestern Colombian department of Cauca are on high alert after a series of terrorist attacks allegedly carried out by guerrilla group FARC.
According to local officials, the armed forces have begun extensive operations in the departments after guerrilla attacks on the towns of Argelia, Jalambo, Toribio and Miranda.
Cauca Police commander Ricardo Alarcon told newspaper El Espectador that the attack on Toribio lasted 15 hours before security forces were able to push the FARC forces away from the town.
In Miranda, four children and one adult were injured by home-made mortars fired at the town.
The Cauca department has long been one of the hardest hit by Colombia’s armed conflict because of its strategic position connecting FARC-controlled coca fields in the south of Colombia with the Pacific ocean. Other illegal armed groups like the Rastrojos and the Urabeños are also active in the region.