A four-year-old girl was killed in an attack between dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian army on Thursday. The military confirmed the death of the minor, four years old, and blamed the guerrillas. According to the Armed Forces, the attack was perpetrated by alleged members of the Dagoberto Ramos Mobile Column, a branch belonging to the armed group. The confrontation occurred in the municipality of La Plata, in the Huila region, in the southwest of the country, and was led by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, known as ‘Iván Mordisco’, who proclaimed himself head of the Central General Staff (EMC). of the FARC.
According to Colombian media, three soldiers were injured and several soldiers were kidnapped by members of the FARC. Nothing is yet known about the agents who were kidnapped by the group. According to the army, the attack occurred when the military was in the Villa Esperanza hamlet, in La Plata. The agents were threatened by “members of the armed group” and responded to defend themselves.
The armed combat, in which assault rifles were used, took place near ordinary citizens. The girl was wounded with a bullet in the stomach and another in the leg, and she received medical attention from the nurse of the military unit. She was transported to a hospital in Huila, but she arrived at the facility with no vital signs and later died.
According to the army, “the members of this armed structure are using the civilian population to act against the troops, with the intention of expelling them from this important region of the country.” The army affirmed that they are going to deliver weapons to the civilian population and they are going to train them in their use in order to protect themselves against a possible attack by the FARC dissidents in the affected area.
In images broadcast on social networks, one of the citizens shows how the army is being attacked by the guerrillas. Another video shows the wounded girl in her last moments before she died, surrounded by citizens and soldiers who are trying to save her.
The Colombian Ombudsman’s Office confirmed that the EMC, the main FARC dissidence, is present in 18 departments and 180 municipalities in the southwest of the country, the Amazon and some territories near the border with Venezuela. However, on July 8, the Colombian government and the FARC announced the resumption of peace talks. Both groups had agreed to start negotiations this year, but these were suspended after the murder of four indigenous children by the armed organization. The Colombian government managed to reach a peace agreement with the FARC in 2016, and attempts have been made ever since. The agreement is being resumed by both groups due to the large number of incidences against the military and citizens by the guerrillas.
Although an agreement is being sought, the Colombian government has doubts as to whether the armed group really wants to seek peace. The organization has kidnapped and released this month two minors. The FARC have also been responsible for armed combat in other regions of the country.
That being said, the city of Antioquia was the victim of an attack in which several soldiers died at the hands of members of the group. The peace discussions between the government of Gustavo Petro and the FARC dissidents will be affected after the death of the minor and the continuous threats against the Colombian army.
