PBA DESK : Colombia’s armed forces clashed Saturday
with FARC dissident rebels, killing 10 from the group that split from the
2016 peace process.
Army special forces and police launched an operation in Caqueta department,
in which a longtime group leader Rodrigo Cadete, 52, was killed.
“Another nine guerrillas we killed; we have several captures and the
fighting continues in the region,” Defense chief Guillermo Botero said in a
statement in Manizales.
Though some 7,000 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) laid down their arms, about 1,700 are still in the insurgent struggle
funded by drug money, military intelligence says.
With no unified command, dissidents operate in remote areas where they
fight other groups to control drug trafficking and drug trafficking routes.
Colombia has experienced relative calm since the 2016 peace deal signed by
then-president Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebels.
With the landmark agreement turning the FARC into a political party, the
smaller ELN is considered the last active rebel group in the country.
True to his election promises, President Ivan Duque, who took office last
August, has taken a hard line against the ELN, including his demand they
release all hostages as a prerequisite to kick-starting their peace process.
PBA/zizi
