Clashes between rival Colombian armed groups have killed at least 23 people in the province of Arauca, near the border with Venezuela, the Colombian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday.
“So far 23 dead have been found” in a rural area in Arauca (northeast), Undersecretary of Defense Hairo Garcia said after meeting with officials in the area, without specifying whether civilians were among the victims. “We are still collecting the bodies,” Garcia added.
Conservative President Ivan Duce said it was “possible” that “there were civilians” among the victims.
He further added that he had ordered “two battalions” to be deployed “within the next 72 hours” to regain “control of the area”.
The battles were fought by members of the National Liberation Army (ELN, Guevara), officially the last rebel organization to continue its armed struggle in Colombia, and dissidents of the former rebel organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who in 2016 .
From Duke’s point of view, the clashes in this province of more than 300,000 people, one of 32 in the country of 51 million, are a consequence of the 2,000-kilometer “porous border” shared by Colombia and Venezuela, where the authorities “Allow illegal armed organizations to be established”.
“These two armed groups are finding refuge and protection from the regime of Nicolas Maduro,” President Duce said in a radio interview.
Bogota has often accused Venezuela’s socialist president and government of hosting, protecting and supporting illegal Colombian armed groups, despite Caracas’ repeated denials.
Colombia and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties shortly after right-wing Ivan Duce took power in August 2018; tensions are high between the two countries.
In March 2021, some 5,000 people were displaced in the Venezuelan state of Apure during fighting between the Venezuelan army and Colombian militant groups.
FARC insurgents, ELN units and drug traffickers operate in the border areas of northeastern Colombia, where large quantities of cocaine are produced.
The FARC insurgents are estimated to have 5,200 fighters, 85% of whom are new recruits, according to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ), an independent Colombian research center. The ELN has around 2,450 guerrillas, according to the same source (24774318).
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