Colombian national police came under attack this weekend while conducting a search and extraction operation of FARC weapon caches in the country’s former conflict zone in Northern Cauca. The attack was repelled, according to El Cauca police commander Edgar Orlando Rodríguez, but one police officer was wounded in the attack.
“The group was attacked by individuals bearing long-barreled weaponry. Our officers repelled the attack and stopped the aggression”, Rodríguez told reporters. He later added that this attack was attributed to members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) led by wanted terrorist “Milton Hernández”.
In the attack, 31-year old police officer Reynel Escobar suffered a gunshot wound in his abdomen. He was rushed to Valle del Lili Clinic in Cali, where he remains in stable condition.
At the time of the attack, the team had already performed the first extraction, removing more than 50 kg of explosives along with grenades and other arms. The extraction was part of others which aim to eliminate the 770 FARC weapon caches that still persist throughout Colombia. The national police aim to finish the extractions by September 1st.
