Four soldiers were killed in rural Colombia on Wednesday after stepping on a minefield laid by guerrillas who, until recently, had been negotiating peace with the government.
The South American nation is experiencing its worst violence in a decade, just weeks before the start of presidential elections on May 31.
Three more soldiers were wounded in the minefield in the southeastern Guaviare department, which was attributed to a dissident faction of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Led by a man whose alias is Calarca, the faction known as “EMBF” had refused a 2016 peace accord in which FARC agreed to lay down arms.
Left-wing President Gustavo Petro halted peace negotiations with the EMBF in April.
A Colombian army statement said the explosives detonated early Wednesday morning following an offensive operation against the guerrillas.
An army spokesperson told AFP that the anti-personnel mines had been planted in the rural San Jose del Guaviare region.
It hosts vast coca leaf plantations and is also considered the cradle of the first dissident guerrillas to break ranks with FARC a decade ago.
Last year, anti-personnel landmines in Colombia killed or injured 198 people, 75 of whom were civilians, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Petro took office in 2022 with the aim of reaching peace deals with the various dissident groups fighting for control over Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade.
But with four months left in his term, no significant progress has been made toward that goal.
