BOGOTA: At least 20 people were killed as Colombian military personnel clashed with FARC dissidents and the Clan del Golfo crime gang in different parts of the country, authorities said yesterday.
Fighting in Cauca province, in the municipality of Argelia, killed 12 combatants from a dissident group of the now-demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, Colombia’s army said.
Dissident FARC groups reject a peace deal signed with the state in 2016.
One soldier was also killed during the fighting, which took place in a mountainous region that is important for drug trafficking.
Elsewhere, seven members of the Clan del Golfo – also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) – were killed when troops assaulted one of their camps in Choco province.
Colombia’s army seized long-range weapons, ammunition and communications equipment during the assault, a military spokesman said. - Reuters