At least two FARC dissidents killed and two police officers injured in attack in Colombia

At least two FARC dissidents died this Saturday when they were going to commit an attack with explosives against a police station in the municipality of Guapi, in the turbulent Colombian department of Cauca (southwest), an event that left two uniformed officers injured.

“Two police officers with shrapnel, two dissidents dead, more than 10 properties affected, preliminary information, and an entire community plunged into widespread fear of a fratricidal war that must end,” said the governor of Cauca, Octavio Guzmán.

According to the authorities, the members of the Central General Staff (EMC), the largest dissident group in the FARC, were going to attack the police station with the explosives, which exploded before they reached that place.

“This act of violence is unacceptable and does not reflect the values ​​of peace and respect that we long for and for which we work daily in our country,” said Guzmán.

The UN Office for Human Rights in Colombia rejected the “indiscriminate attack” that, in addition to the deaths and injuries, caused “serious destruction of civilian property, including facilities of the Church, the Social Ministry and the Mayor’s Office.”

“We urge armed groups to respect human rights and International Humanitarian Law,” added that organization.

Along those lines, the Guapi Mayor’s Office pointed out that the attack devastated “a large part of the center” of this town and turned it into “a scene of rubble.”

The Colombian-French network Vamos por la Paz, which defends human rights, also reported that in the early hours of this Saturday, rifle bursts were heard in Guapi and called for respect for the lives of the civilian population.

The Army has resumed actions against the dissidents led by alias ‘Iván Mordisco’ since the EMC split and this group began to intensify attacks in areas such as Cauca against the security forces and the civilian population, skipping the ceasefire bilateral agreement in force at that time and leaving the negotiations with the Government.