A group of armed men posing as soldiers on Monday killed one policeman and injured another after assaulting a police station for 45 minutes in southwestern Colombia.
According to eye witness accounts, the armed men allegedly arrived in the town of Nataga in the southwestern department of Huila in a white van where they stopped in front of the police station. Moments later they opened fire.
“They left an explosive charge in front of the station, which was activated minutes after,” recounted regional police commander General Omar Rubiano.
The investigation into who was behind the attack is ongoing, however, Rubiano’s initial reaction was that the FARC, Colombia’s largest left-wing insurgent group, was responsible. The FARC’s sixth front is known to be active in the region.
“Our initial hypotheses would suggest that the FARC’s 6th Front is responsible for the terrorist attack,” said Rubiano.
FARC guerrillas on Monday allegedly attacked a police patrol in the Antioquia department. Four policemen were traveling on two motorcycles when two frag grenades were thrown into their path killing two and wounding two others. Additionally, another four police officers were wounded by a grenade supposedly thrown by a FARC guerrilla.
Since the FARC announced the termination of their unilateral ceasefire on January 20, the rebel force has unleashed a vigorous offensive against Colombia’s security forces with attacks occurring almost daily.
The Colombian government and the FARC are currently in the midst of peace talks in Cuba’s capital of Havana. Should the talks be successful, Colombia’s nearly 50-year-long internal conflict may finally come to an end.
