- Clashes broke out between two factions of disbanded FARC.
- The fighting took place in the village of Vereda Piripal: Mayor Rodriguez
- Various guerilla factions fighting for control of jungle territory.
Clashes between two dissident factions of the disbanded FARC guerrilla movement left 48 people dead in the Colombian Amazon, a local mayor said. AFP on Thursday, days before the May 31 presidential election.
“The bodies are there in a heap, they have to be evacuated,” said Willy Rodriguez, the mayor of the regional capital of San Jose del Guaviare, located six hours from the site of the fighting. AFP in a phone call.
Colombia has been rocked by the worst wave of violence since the FARC laid down its arms in 2016 after half a century of war with the government.
Various smaller guerrilla factions are vying for control of jungle territory once controlled by the rebel army, as well as revenue from drug trafficking and illegal mining.
The mayor said the fighting took place in the village of Vereda Piripal and that the community itself provided the preliminary death toll.
This was told by an army source AFP that the fighting in a historic FARC stronghold began on Monday.
There is no word on whether it is ongoing at the moment and rescue teams have yet to reach the scene.
The bloodshed marks another blow to the failed “total peace” strategy of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro – a hot-button issue in the presidential campaign.
The leftist senator leading the race to succeed Petro, Ivan Cepeda, has vowed to continue dialogue with armed groups.
His right-wing rivals, led by tough lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, a fan of US President Donald Trump, argue that the rebels must be crushed militarily.
The security situation looms large over the election, which has been marked by murders, kidnappings and bomb attacks.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said 408,000 security force members backed by “aircraft, ships, drones, anti-drone systems and armored vehicles” had been deployed to ensure the vote goes peacefully.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates will be held on June 21.
