Colombian authorities have said that at least three soldiers have been killed and several more injured after an attack on a military compound by an armed group that included drones used to drop explosives.
The Colombian army said on Saturday that the attack had been carried out by the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) the night before in the municipality of Ocana, which is in the area bordering Venezuela. Two soldiers were killed in the clashes, along with a third who died after receiving medical attention. Four were injured.
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“To the ELN I say with absolute clarity: for every police officer or soldier you kill, I will bring down on you the full weight and legitimate force of the State,” President Abelardo de la Espriella said in a statement on social media condemning the attack.
Authorities said that drones dropped explosives onto the compound in the department of Norte de Santander before fighting took place within the facility. The news service AFP reported that at least 20 drones loaded with explosives were utilised in the attack, citing an unnamed security official.
De la Espriella won office pledging to return Colombia to militarised confrontation with armed groups and criminal organisations that have jostled for influence across the country, despite concerns that it could lead to surging violence and possible rights abuses.
Deadly attacks by armed groups have continued to rattle the country since his inauguration.
The attack on Friday took place in the northeastern Catatumbo region, where the ELN is based and where the government has carried out military raids against armed groups.
De la Espriella has also promised closer ties with the United States, which has sought to expand its military involvement in the region under the so-called “Shield of the Americas” initiative.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with de la Espriella, a former lawyer who previously represented leaders of paramilitaries, in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla next week.
