Two people - a soldier and a civilian - were killed on Wednesday (February 9th) in a bomb attack at the entrance to a military barracks in Colombia, authorities said.
The explosion occurred in Granada, a city in the department of Meta (southern Colombia).
“There was an attack against the military installations of Battalion 21,”
Hernan Gomez, a member of the Meta region government, told reporters.
"Unfortunately, a soldier and a civilian lost their lives
," he said.
And five soldiers were injured by shrapnel.
No one, however, said whether the author had died in the attack.
Read alsoColombia: Farc take up arms
According to General Antonio Beltrán, a motor scooter - similar to a tuk-tuk - tried to enter the military base before exploding.
The driver was a member of a dissident entity of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) which did not sign the 2016 peace agreement, according to the general.
The action of the deceased soldier to prevent the vehicle from advancing further prevented the detonation from occurring within the confines of the base, said the general, who condemned this
"terrorist act"
.
“We will react strongly and catch those responsible.
The death of a soldier makes us suffer
,” Defense Minister Diego Molano tweeted.
Read alsoColombia: peace agreements with the weakened Farc
Colombia is experiencing renewed violence five years after the historic signing of the pact with the FARC guerrillas.
Granada authorities have declared a curfew until Thursday morning.
“We are not going to allow Meta to be a battlefield again
,” said Hernan Gomez.
About 2,500 fighters, without a unified command, rejected the peace agreement signed in November 2016 between Farc and the government which led to the disarmament of about 7,000 rebels.
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