Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN
At least three Colombian soldiers have been injured in a “terrorist” car bomb blast at the army headquarters that is believed to have been carried out by the left-wing armed group the National Liberation Army.
The incident took place at the army headquarters in the municipality of Cubara in the central Colombian department of Boyaca close to the border with Venezuela, official sources reported.
Reports said the car bomb was supposed to explode in front of the main building but went off too early next to the municipal cemetery.
The violent act was allegedly carried out by members of the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN), or ‘National Liberation Army’ in English.
Interior vice-minister Francisco Jose Chaux told local media that “we suffered a terrorist attack by the ELN” and that the incident “risked the lives of women, children and social leaders who defend our rights”.
He said he was holding a meeting close to where the explosion took place and that civil servants were promptly evacuated from the headquarters.
Meanwhile, at least three servicemen were injured in the bomb blast and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The local authorities accuse the ELN of hiding in Venezuela to plan and carry out attacks on the Colombian armed forces, something which the revolutionary left-wing armed group denies.
Colombian president Ivan Duque reiterated that peace talks cannot be reopened while the ELN continues to carry out criminal acts, according to local media.
Peace talks were halted following a terrorist attack on a police academy in the county’s capital Bogota on 17th January this year that killed 22 people.
The ELN was formed in 1964 and is said to be active in 10 percent of Colombia’s 1,100 municipalities, according to reports.
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