Colombia: Airstrikes kill 18 FARC guerrillas
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - The Colombian army killed 18 guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Thursday in bombing raids, followed by ground attacks. The latest attack against the rebels was one of the deadliest since President Juan Manuel Santos restarted suspended airstrikes last month.
The bombing took place in the Cauca department on the Pacific coast where FARC guerrillas have a large presence. The five-decade long conflict between the government forces and the FARC guerrillas has killed over 220,000 people and displaced over 5 million.
"It is the first major blow against FARC since President Santos ordered the resumption of air strikes against the guerrillas on April 15," an official from the country’s defense ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse.
"It is the first major blow against FARC since President Santos ordered the resumption of air strikes against the guerrillas on April 15," the Defense Ministry official said about the strike, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The suspension of airstrikes was lifted in April, jeopardizing the peace talks between the warring sides that began over two years back.
Late last year, the FARC declared a one-sided ceasefire to boost the chances of the negotiations. FARC, which was formed in 1964, has deployed about 8,000 fighters in the rural parts of the country.
(nt)
