News / Colombia

Soldier killed, 3 injured in attack by Colombia FARC renegades

Sunday, 09 April 2017 5:51 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 09 April 2017 5:51 PM ]

File photo shows Colombian soldiers (AFP photo)

One soldier has been killed and three others have been injured as a dissident wing of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, attack military personnel southeast of the country.

The Colombian military said in a statement on Sunday that one more soldier was missing after the bomb attack a day earlier that targeted a vehicle carrying soldiers and police officers in the Guaviare district.

"A soldier lost his life and a non-commissioned officer and two soldiers were injured as a result of the explosion," said the statement, adding that search was going on to find the missing soldier.

The statement said the attack was carried out by renegade members of the FARC acting in defiance of a peace accord reached between the government and rebels last year.

FARC guerrillas march in a column at their camp in the Transitional Standardization Zone in Pondores, La Guajira department, Colombia on April 3, 2017. (AFP photo)

“These deeds are attributed to dissidents of the first front of the FARC, who are committing crimes in the region,” it said.

Colombia reached a disarmament deal with FARC after half a century of war with the leftist group. The peace deal is supervised by the United Nations and will conclude by the end of May. Many FARC members have laid down their arms under the agreement but some elements continue to target both the government troops and fellow FARC rebels. The first front of FARC, which was allegedly behind the attack on Saturday, is believed to be heavily involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining in Colombia.

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