At least a colombian soldier he died and four more injured in clashes with suspected guerrillas Military sources of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia’s Arauca department on the Venezuelan border informed EFE this Friday that a clash broke out in a rural area of Tame between soldiers and members of the ELN’s Heroes and Martyrs front. Appeared in combat wounded a guerrillaAssisted by army nurses and later transported to a hospital in Saravena.
Arauca is one of the sections where there is a greater presence of ELN guerrillas. Due to its proximity to Venezuela, the porosity of the borders and the lack of joint patrols, there are several other FARC dissidents and other groups, such as petty criminal groups, that are in conflict with each other.
The humanitarian situation in Arauca, a department with a lot of mineral wealth and oil exploitation, where guerrillas have had significant influence for decades and the State does not have much presence, has worsened due to the US war waged earlier this year. The Tenth Front of the ELN and former FARC opponents. Earlier this month, the Colombian Office of the Ombudsman and the Catholic Church’s humanitarian mission succeeded in releasing a soldier kidnapped in that department on August 16.
Since Gustavo Petro’s arrival as President of Colombia, ELN releases several detainees as part of the renewal impetus for peace talks notables.
Last month, the Colombian Government and the ELN formalized the resumption of peace talks in Cuba, which had been suspended since 2019. The resumption of peace talks was one of Peter’s campaign promises. all Colombian armed groups as part of a “total peace” strategy.