"Hundreds of people blocked soldiers on a drug-trafficking patrol from leaving a village in rural southwestern Colombia. A group of 45 Colombian soldiers have been retrieved from a village controlled by rebel fighters in the country's rural southwest, where authorities say they were blocked from leaving by a group of about 600 civilians. The Colombian military said on Monday that the last remaining soldiers had been retrieved without incident and returned safe and sound from El Tambo,"
"All military personnel in the hands of civilians have been released, President Gustavo Petro said in a social media post. The population in regions of coca leaf and illicit gold [mining] must stop obeying orders from the mafias. The government has blamed such incidents, five of which have occurred this year, on splinter groups that spurned a 2016 peace deal between the government and the FARC, a left-wing rebel group."
"After the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), various splinter groups, drug trafficking, and criminal organisations rushed in to take control of areas previously controlled by the left-wing group. A six-decade civil conflict that resulted in the death of 450,000 people may also contribute to hostility towards the army in some parts of the country."
A group of 45 Colombian soldiers were blocked in El Tambo by roughly 600 civilians while on a drug-trafficking patrol and were later retrieved and returned unharmed. President Gustavo Petro confirmed all military personnel held by civilians have been released and urged populations in coca and illicit gold regions to stop obeying mafia orders. The government attributes such blockings to splinter groups that rejected the 2016 FARC peace deal and allegedly coerce civilians to obstruct army patrols. Such incidents have occurred multiple times this year, often ending with soldiers released unharmed, sometimes after mediation by human rights groups. A long civil conflict and competing armed actors have worsened local hostility and violence.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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