After the arrival of further Colombian armed forces into the department of Cauca, footage of a confrontation between the forces and FARC dissidents has surfaced online. Last night a number of videos were posted where heavy gunfire can be heard in the rural El Plateado area, situated near the border between the Cauca department and the Pacific. So far there has been no official statement on the confrontation. During the video continual rifle bursts can be heard but not seen in the rural Colombian night.
#ATENCIÓN: Intensos combates tras llegada del Ejército a El Plateado, Argelia.
En el coliseo de esa población hay familias que salieron desplazadas de cuatro veredas.
El Estado Mayor Central de las Farc advirtió que está en riesgo el cese al fuego unilateral que anunciaron. pic.twitter.com/BlHUOBZFcH
— Sucesos Cauca (@sucesoscauca) September 29, 2023
#SucedeAhora | Se registran fuertes combates entre las Fuerzas Militares y las disidencias de las Farc en el corregimiento de El Plateado, municipio de Argelia, Cauca ?? pic.twitter.com/DlX7HfXvaB
— Noticias RCN (@NoticiasRCN) September 29, 2023
The Colombian Army has been staging an offensive against the FARC dissidents in Cauca, a group of FARC members who rejected the 2016 peace deal and are deeply embedded with the cocaine trade. The FARC hold territory in large parts of the department, which is strategically important for coca cultivation and trafficking, making it a site of contestation and conflict. There have been continuous high levels of violence in Cauca particularly in the southern municipality of Algeria, where El Plateado is located. The department is contested by two of the largest guerrilla groups, the FARC dissidents and the ELN. Cauca’s access to the Pacific is a key part of the department’s strategic importance as it allows for International further trafficking routes.
Earlier this month the FARC dissidents used a car bomb which killed three individuals and injured twenty more at a police station in Cauca. In response, the Colombian Army’s offensive killed twenty FARC dissident members, and a further 17 were arrested.
