Two civilians were killed and eight were reported injured in separate FARC assaults on the municipality of Puerto Rico in the southern Caqueta department.
Caracol Radio reported a dynamite charge exploded on a rural road outside of the Puerto Rico municipality killing two passengers in a passing taxi and injuring one.
The explosion came minutes after an attack on the nearby Guayas River bridge which injured five civilians and two military personnel.
According to locals, FARC guerrillas entered and began harassing the town at around 6:00 AM Tuesday.
“They are carrying out a heavy attack with automatic weapon fire, I’m a few meters from the police station. The police are patrolling the urban area, we are hearing strong explosions near to the police station,” said a witness to Caracol Radio.
The department’s Secretary of Government, Edilberto Ramon, reported that military reinforcements are stalled because of bad weather in the area and the battalion that is in the area is trying to stave off the attack. The local official also said he hopes the attack ends before the end of the day and without the loss of more lives.
The attacks occurred less than 30 miles from San Vicente del Caguan where last week alleged guerrillas kidnapped four Chinese oil workers.
