Soldiers of the Colombian National Army destroyed land mines and explosive materials on three separate incidents on October 6.
Soldiers of the Colombian National Army destroyed land mines and explosive materials on three separate incidents on October 6.
It was just the latest of a series of successful operations against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which allegedly planned to use the explosive devices against the civilian population. Just the day before, residents alerted soldiers to explosives at a children’s park; and in another instance, explosives and material used to make land mines were found inside a FARC camp.
Operations by Task Force Omega, Mobile Brigade 9, and the 18 Brigade
October 6 proved to be a busy day for security forces in Colombia, starting when technical personnel with the joint Task Force Omega destroyed 50,000 grams of R-1 explosives inside two five-gallon containers in the department of Caquetá. That’s enough material to arm about 500 land mines. The explosive R1 is characterized by its high explosive potential, detonation speed and wide range of destruction, which makes it a preferred weapon for the FARC
Soldiers also found and destroyed five improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Army officials suspect the R-1 explosives belonged to the Domingo Biohó Front 63 of the FARC, which is commanded by an operative who is known as “Wilmer” or “El Burro.”
That same day in the department of Meta, units with the Mobile Brigade 9 found and destroyed five antipersonnel land mines activated by a pressure relief system. Soldiers suspect these explosive devices were planted by the 2nd Commission of the Felipe Rincón Front of the FARC.
“These devices were installed indiscriminately to stop the advance of the military patrols, and risking the physical integrity of the law enforcement members and the residents of the region alike,” Task Force Omega reported. “This constitutes a crime against humanity and violates the international treaty of Ottawa which prohibits the use of artifacts of massive destruction.”
Meanwhile, in the municipality of Tame, troops of the Special Energy Battalion 14 of the 18th Brigade detected an improvised explosive device similar to a hand grenade hidden in a tree near a water source. The soldiers, who are participating in Sword of Honor, a military effort launched in 2012 to destroy the FARC, deactivated the device.
Army officials said they suspect the explosive device, which could have been activated by a pressure relief system, had been planted by the Afonso Castellanos column of the FARC – which sometimes uses explosives to raise funds for its terrorist activities.
“They use them to threaten and extort the oil companies,” said Yadira Gálvez González, a security analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Civilians provide information about explosives
The day before this series of operations, on October 5, Army soldiers with the Apollo Task Force of the 3rd Division received a tip from civilians that explosive devices had been planted in a children’s park in San Andrés de Pisimbala, in the municipality of Inzá, Cauca Valley.
Army soldiers responded to the park, located four explosive devices, and detonated them a safe distance from the civilian population and nearby buildings.
“The explosive devices were planted by narco-terrorists of the 6th Front of the FARC, under the command of ‘Duber Chiquito,’ ” the Apollo Task Force reported. “This is a reproachable act in every sense, because it infringes once more the International Humanitarian Code, risking protected populations in the areas surrounding civilian institutions such as schools and churches, and using illegal methods and means of war.”
Soldiers find explosives in a FARC hideout
About three weeks before the Apollo Task Force deactivated the explosives from the children’s park, troops from the same group discovered a suspected FARC hideout in the Cauca Valley where 300 explosive devices were stored. The Army suspects the explosives, which they destroyed, belonged to the Gabriel Galvis column of the FARC.
“According to the military intelligence, these explosive devices were part of a terrorist plot to attack the civilian population, and spread fear among the inhabitants of the north of Cauca and the south of the Valley,” the Apollo Task Force reported.
Soldiers of the Colombian National Army destroyed land mines and explosive materials on three separate incidents on October 6.
It was just the latest of a series of successful operations against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which allegedly planned to use the explosive devices against the civilian population. Just the day before, residents alerted soldiers to explosives at a children’s park; and in another instance, explosives and material used to make land mines were found inside a FARC camp.
Operations by Task Force Omega, Mobile Brigade 9, and the 18 Brigade
October 6 proved to be a busy day for security forces in Colombia, starting when technical personnel with the joint Task Force Omega destroyed 50,000 grams of R-1 explosives inside two five-gallon containers in the department of Caquetá. That’s enough material to arm about 500 land mines. The explosive R1 is characterized by its high explosive potential, detonation speed and wide range of destruction, which makes it a preferred weapon for the FARC
Soldiers also found and destroyed five improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Army officials suspect the R-1 explosives belonged to the Domingo Biohó Front 63 of the FARC, which is commanded by an operative who is known as “Wilmer” or “El Burro.”
That same day in the department of Meta, units with the Mobile Brigade 9 found and destroyed five antipersonnel land mines activated by a pressure relief system. Soldiers suspect these explosive devices were planted by the 2nd Commission of the Felipe Rincón Front of the FARC.
“These devices were installed indiscriminately to stop the advance of the military patrols, and risking the physical integrity of the law enforcement members and the residents of the region alike,” Task Force Omega reported. “This constitutes a crime against humanity and violates the international treaty of Ottawa which prohibits the use of artifacts of massive destruction.”
Meanwhile, in the municipality of Tame, troops of the Special Energy Battalion 14 of the 18th Brigade detected an improvised explosive device similar to a hand grenade hidden in a tree near a water source. The soldiers, who are participating in Sword of Honor, a military effort launched in 2012 to destroy the FARC, deactivated the device.
Army officials said they suspect the explosive device, which could have been activated by a pressure relief system, had been planted by the Afonso Castellanos column of the FARC – which sometimes uses explosives to raise funds for its terrorist activities.
“They use them to threaten and extort the oil companies,” said Yadira Gálvez González, a security analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Civilians provide information about explosives
The day before this series of operations, on October 5, Army soldiers with the Apollo Task Force of the 3rd Division received a tip from civilians that explosive devices had been planted in a children’s park in San Andrés de Pisimbala, in the municipality of Inzá, Cauca Valley.
Army soldiers responded to the park, located four explosive devices, and detonated them a safe distance from the civilian population and nearby buildings.
“The explosive devices were planted by narco-terrorists of the 6th Front of the FARC, under the command of ‘Duber Chiquito,’ ” the Apollo Task Force reported. “This is a reproachable act in every sense, because it infringes once more the International Humanitarian Code, risking protected populations in the areas surrounding civilian institutions such as schools and churches, and using illegal methods and means of war.”
Soldiers find explosives in a FARC hideout
About three weeks before the Apollo Task Force deactivated the explosives from the children’s park, troops from the same group discovered a suspected FARC hideout in the Cauca Valley where 300 explosive devices were stored. The Army suspects the explosives, which they destroyed, belonged to the Gabriel Galvis column of the FARC.
“According to the military intelligence, these explosive devices were part of a terrorist plot to attack the civilian population, and spread fear among the inhabitants of the north of Cauca and the south of the Valley,” the Apollo Task Force reported.
I guess by now their moral suppose to be very low after all their weapons are destroyed What an ugly day this is