In a violent turn of events, seven individuals, including two police officers, lost their lives on Tuesday due to explosions orchestrated near police stations in Cali and the adjacent Cauca region in Colombia. This was confirmed by the National Police of Colombia through an official statement. The blame for these attacks has been directed towards FARC-EMC, a faction formed by former rebels who dissociated from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia post the 2016 peace agreement with the government.
Reports indicate that the rebels strategically placed explosive devices in vehicles such as cars and motorcycles parked in close proximity to police stations. Additionally, the assailants unleashed their assault using firearms and grenades. Throughout Tuesday, a total of 24 separate attacks were recorded in Cali and its neighboring provinces of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. These coordinated strikes resulted in injuries to 28 people, of whom 19 were civilians, alongside the tragic fatalities.
The assaults come in the wake of an assassination attempt on Miguel Uribe, a conservative presidential contender, during a public rally in Bogota. Authorities are engaged in a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for the attack, which has left Uribe in a critical state at a hospital in Bogota.
The Colombian government has been grappling with escalating violence as various rebel factions vie for control over territories evacuated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia following the historic peace accord. Recent peace talks broke down last year between the government and the FARC-EMC faction, primarily due to repeated assaults on indigenous communities.
At present, the government is engaged in dialogue with another faction of the group headed by Commander Luis Alberto Alban, who is also known by his pseudonym, Marcos Calarca. This ongoing negotiation highlights the complex landscape of peace initiatives in a country beset by long-standing internal strife.