Two soldiers were seriously injured in one of two reported FARC attacks in the west of Colombia Sunday.
Local media reported that guerrillas in Condoto, a municipality in the Choco department, attacked a counternarcotics police post leaving two policemen critically injured.
The station also functions as a municipal airport and the injured soldiers were successfully evacuated to local hospitals. Several helicopters then took off in search of the rebels.
Meanwhile in the Valle del Cauca, the department just south of Choco, soldiers sent to the municipality of Florida were obstructed by land mines ostensibly laid by FARC.
According to General Humberto Jorge Jerez, one of the explosives was detonated by remote control while another was disarmed by the military’s anti-explosives experts.
The attacks occurred one day before the beginning of formal peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC. The “first round” of talks refers to the secret and informal negotiations between the two sides that dates back to February.
FARC lobbied for a cease fire during peace talks, but the government rejected the offer as they did not want to allow the guerrillas any time or space to regroup.
