Colombian Soldiers Freed in Troubled Region Amid Ongoing Conflict
Forty-five Colombian soldiers held by rebels in a drug trafficking area were released unharmed. The incident highlights ongoing tensions as Colombia faces challenges related to its six-decade-long internal conflict involving government forces, guerrillas, and drug traffickers, despite a 2016 peace deal intended to resolve such issues.
In a significant development, forty-five Colombian soldiers were released unharmed from a drug trafficking zone in the west of the country, the army announced on Monday. This concludes the latest in a series of similar incidents attributed to rebels rejecting a 2016 peace agreement.
Colombia's air force successfully evacuated the soldiers, who were safely returned, according to a statement from the army's third division on X. Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez had confirmed that the soldiers were detained by approximately 600 individuals in El Tambo, in the western Cauca department.
The army described the soldier's detention as a flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law on X. Recent events underscore the ongoing challenges Colombia faces amid its prolonged internal conflict, which has claimed over 450,000 lives.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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