Colombian rebel group attacks Trans-Andean Pipeline days after ceasefire
Xinhua, July 17, 2015 Adjust font size:
The 48th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- the largest guerrilla group in Colombia -- attacked a section of the Trans-Andean Oil Pipeline with explosives, the high command of the Colombian Army announced on Thursday.
The targeted section of the pipeline is in the village of Boqueron, northwest of Paraguay. According to the army, the attack came in response to recent military operations in the area targeting the FARC, which left several rebels dead or captured.
"With this terrorist action, FARC has violated international human rights. These acts are harming the general population and damaging the environment, rather than targeting public forces," stated commander General Luis Fernando Rojas.
The army added that after the explosion, members of the 20th Special Road and Energy Battalion successfully deactivated explosives set up along another section of the pipeline. The pipeline will be suspended until restoration.
On the same day, FARC attacked the municipality of Taraza in the northwest of Colombia, seizing streets and burning vehicles.
In the region of Cauca, southwest of Colombia, authorities also received reports of rebel attacks, in which a woman was injured by a gunshot.
A section of the Pan-American Highway connecting two western cities in Colombia was also damaged.
These attacks came just four days after July 12, when the Colombian government and FARC agreed in Havana, Cuba to de-escalate the fighting between them. In the agreement, the guerrilla group promised to unilaterally cease fire from July 20. Endi