TeleSUR
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ended the dialogue process with the National Liberation Army (ELN) following the attack that left two dead and 27 wounded on Tuesday at the Puerto Jordán military base in the Arauca department, and which the government attributed to the ELN.
“Today we are facing a dramatic event, repeated in recent years: a dump truck loaded with explosives that injured 27 young people and killed two, according to the information I have, placed by the ELN, with whom we were talking about peace. This, obviously, is an action that practically closes a peace process with blood,” said the head of State at the inauguration ceremony of the new magistrate of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Claudia Regina Expósito.
According to information provided by the Colombian Army, the ELN guerrillas are believed to be responsible, as the attack occurred in a territory where they have a presence.
A statement from the Eighth Division of the National Army, under the operational command of Joint Command number four Orinoquía, reported that on Tuesday morning, “the command post of the 18th Field Artillery Battalion, located in Puerto Jordán, Arauquita, Arauca, was attacked with improvised explosive devices launched from a dump truck.”
The Army noted that seven soldiers and non-commissioned officers were seriously injured and evacuated to medical centers to receive specialized care. “Regrettably, two of them, professional soldiers Julián Patiño Arango and Bairon Andrés Correa Vargas, died due to the severity of their injuries.”
The statement also said that 21 soldiers were hit by shrapnel but are out of danger.
The text also states that the troops at the command post reacted to the attack and captured “two individuals who were apparently traveling on two motorcycles accompanying the dump truck at the time of the attack. These individuals are at the disposal of the competent authority for their judicial process.”
“This terrorist attack, attributed to the organized armed group ELN, Domingo Laín Sáenz War Front, took place near a school, putting the lives of minors at risk, and constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights and a serious breach of international humanitarian law,” the Army said.
In this regard, the Army categorically rejected the act that threatened the lives of the civilian population and extended its condolences to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives.
#Gustavo #Petro #ends #dialogue #process #ELN
