Colombian army troops began fierce combat with rebels of the FARC in the north of Colombia Tuesday, leaving at least one guerrilla dead and two soldiers injured. Four rebels surrendered.
The combat took place in the rural region around Tibu, a town in the Norte de Santander department and four miles from the Venezuelan border.
According to Caracol Radio, the fighting started after rebels set off a roadside bomb on the road connecting Tibu with the north of the department, which sparked a military offensive against rebels active in the area.
The ground troops were supported by the Colombian Air Force.
The Catatumbo region where the combat is taking place became one of the epicenters of the Colombian armed forces’ offensive against the FARC after the appointment of “Timochenko” as the guerrillas’ supreme leader in November. The FARC leader, assumed to be located in the border area, succeeded “Alfonso Cano” who was killed by the military in December.
