Colombia: ten FARC dissidents killed in clashes with the army

At least ten dissidents of the former FARC guerrilla have been killed in clashes with the army in southwestern Colombia, a military source said on Thursday (October 21st).

Soldiers are engaged in

with the rebels in Micay Canyon, Cauca Department, General Jonh Jairo Rojas said.

among FARC dissidents, said the soldier in a video shared with the media.

He added that members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) had also participated in the fighting, although he did not report any victims of this guerrilla warfare.

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In this region, guerrillas from both groups compete for income from drug trafficking because of its proximity to the Pacific coast. Most of the 13,000 Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) disarmed after the 2016 peace process. But hundreds of its fighters continued to operate in remote areas of the country.

Independent think tank Indepaz estimates the number of dissidents at around 5,200 combatants, the majority (85%) of new recruits.

For its part, ELN, the last active guerrilla in Colombia, has 2,450 combatants, according to Indepaz.

At the beginning of October, in its most recent report, Indepaz estimated at 13,000 members belonging to various illegal armed groups currently active in Colombia (dissidents of the FARC, ELN and paramilitary groups).