A non-commissioned officer and two professional soldiers have been killed and two other soldiers have been wounded in clashes with the Carlos Patiño Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in the municipality of Argelia, in the Colombian department of Cauca.
The confrontation took place in a rural area of the village of El Plateado. The two wounded have already been taken to health centers for treatment.
The deceased soldiers have been identified as third corporal Andrés David Aguilar, from Tierralta, Córdoba, and professional soldiers Dubán Alfonso de Oro and Hair Domínguez Narváez, from Soledad, Atlántico, and Buesaco, Nariño, respectively.
The Army has condemned these events in a message published on Twitter in which it sent a message of solidarity to their families. «We reject the murder of third corporal Andrés Aguilar and professional soldiers Dubán Alfonso de Oro and Hair Domínguez Narváez, who were carrying out military operations for the security of the inhabitants of Argelia, Cauca. Condolences to their family».
MILITARY ABUSES On the other hand, peasants from at least 18 villages belonging to the José María inspection, in the municipality of Puerto Guzmán, Putumayo, on the banks of the Caquetá river, have denounced abuses by the military, such as aggressions, pointing fingers and stigmatization.
On November 19, there was a confrontation in the area between guerrillas of the FARC’s Carolina Ramírez Front and the military that left more than 20 combatants dead and displaced several peasant families caught in the crossfire.
Faced with these violent events, the 27th Jungle Brigade based in Mocoa ordered the militarization of the area, but the community denounced that they are now victims of human rights violations by the military. The Human Rights Network has issued a statement calling for immediate attention from the authorities.
In response, the commander of the 27th Jungle Brigade, General Fredy Gómez, has assured that «there are peasants who are being instrumentalized by the illegal armed groups to make this type of denunciations because they want the Army to withdraw in order to continue with their drug trafficking activities».
