At least eight people have died in southwestern Colombia since the start of an offensive by the Colombian army against the main dissident faction of the FARC, a military source learned this Tuesday, March 26, after the suspension of the truce decided by the government. . .
Last week, the operation left “eight dead and 17 wounded” in the ranks of this armed group, said the commander of the military forces of the Cauca region (southwest), General Federico Mejía, stating that it was based on intercepted communications. among the rebels.
32,000 soldiers deployed
The victims, said General Mejía, were recorded in the Micay canyon, a mountainous territory without access to the sea in the department of Cauca and one of the strongholds of the Central General Staff (EMC), the main armed faction of the dissidents that reject the 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
On March 17, the government announced the suspension in three departments of the country of the truce concluded with this group, after several incidents involving the EMC.
This weekend, the army announced the launch of a major offensive, called “Operation Mantus”, to “stop the criminal action of the EMC in the southwest of the country.” This offensive foresees the deployment of 32,000 soldiers in the three neighboring departments affected by the end of the truce, the three located on the Pacific coast and in the main cocaine production areas.
Since the beginning of “Operation Mantus” on March 20, “constant fighting” has been reported and “11 deep operations” have been carried out against the dissidents, according to General Mejía.
Historically with almost no state presence, like many isolated regions of Colombia, the Micay Canyon is one of the main cocaine production areas, under the strict control of the EMC.
Source: BFM TV
