A car bomb detonated in Colombia overnight outside government offices and the seat of a human rights body, killing one person and wounding four near the Venezuelan border, authorities said Thursday.ADVERTISING
The army in a statement blamed the late-night attack in Saravena, an area with a strong military presence, on dissidents of the FARC guerilla group who rejected a 2016 peace deal.
The explosion killed a security guard and injured four other people, who were taken to hospital. No further information was provided about them.
The blast also damaged private buildings, the army statement said.
The region in which the attack took place is one of the hardest-hit by a wave of violence plaguing Colombia in the aftermath of a 2016 peace pact that disarmed the FARC and officially ended decades of conflict.ADVERTISING
Despite the agreement, fighting continues over territory and resources between dissident FARC guerrillas, the ELN rebel group, paramilitary forces and drug cartels.
Earlier this month, almost 30 people were killed in fighting in the northeastern Arauca department, of which Saravena forms part, and hundreds fled the region, according to official data.
The government has since deployed an additional 1,300 soldiers to join 5,600 already operational in the area.
© 2022 AFP