Wave of Bomb and Gun Attacks Leave At Least Seven Dead in South-Western Colombia.
Colombia:
At least seven people, including two police officers, have been killed in a series of coordinated bomb and gun attacks in south-western Colombia, according to local media reports. The attacks targeted the city of Cali — Colombia’s third-largest — and several nearby towns, plunging the region into a renewed security crisis.
Authorities reported that a total of 19 attacks took place, involving car bombs, motorcycle bombs, rifle fire, and a suspected drone. The Colombian Ministry of Defence confirmed 12 attacks occurred in the Cauca region and seven in Valle del Cauca, where Cali is located.
Police stations, municipal buildings, and civilian areas were among the targets. The number of injured is reported to be more than 50.
Local media sources have attributed the violence to a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a once-dominant guerrilla group.
The Ministry of Defence described the attacks as “a desperate reaction by illegal armed groups to the massive operations of the military and police, which have devastated their illicit structures and economies.”
Cali’s mayor compared the violence to the city’s dark past during the drug wars of the late 1980s, when it was plagued by cartel activity and brutal crime.
The attacks follow closely on the heels of an attempted assassination of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay in Bogotá. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene but has denied charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm. The Attorney General’s office confirmed the youth will remain in detention following a court order.
Colombia’s government has yet to issue a full statement on the escalation in violence, as the nation grapples with fears of a wider resurgence of armed group activity.
