Energy News  
WAR REPORT
11 FARC dissidents killed in Colombian military operation
by Staff Writers
Bogota (AFP) May 28, 2018

Colombian troops killed 11 dissidents of the disbanded FARC guerrilla group, officials said Monday, as a fight looms over the future of a 2016 peace agreement in runoff presidential elections.

The military operation took place Sunday in the south of the country as Colombians voted in the first round of presidential elections that left a hardline conservative and a former leftist guerrilla vying for the presidency.

Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said the operation in Montanita in the southern department of Caqueta left "11 dead and two wounded, including a minor who had been recruited by force."

The 13 were part of an armed faction commanded by a former FARC rebel leader, Rodrigo Cadete, who rejected the 2016 peace agreement with the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.

The minister said the groups had been making threats against the mayor of the Caqueta capital of Florencia as well as an energy company in the region.

"The criminals had been demanding extortion payments from businesses" in Florencia and its surrounding area, the army said in a statement.

Under the peace accord, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) disarmed its 7,000 fighters in order to join the political process. It is now a political party.

However, remnants of the rebel force -- estimated by the army to number about 1,200 -- are still active in the southern border areas, financing their operations through drug trafficking and extortion rackets.

"We will not drop our guard against residual groups. We will continue fighting them with the utmost forcefulness," Santos said on Twitter.

Sunday's military action was a jarring reminder that embers of Colombia's 50-year-old conflict are still burning despite the peace accord with the FARC, once Latin America's largest guerrilla group.

Besides contending with remnants of the FARC, Santos's government has yet to conclude a peace accord with the smaller National Liberation Army, or ELN.

Negotiations with the ELN resumed in Havana earlier this month, and its rebel forces observed a five-day ceasefire during the elections.

- Divisive elections -

But the future of the peace accord has emerged as a key and divisive issue in the elections, which go to a runoff June 17.

The top vote-getter in Sunday's round of balloting was conservative Ivan Duque, who has vowed to rewrite the accord with the FARC if elected.

Duque, who argues that FARC leaders got off too lightly, called for a "Colombia where peace coincides with justice" after the results were announced, reiterating his desire to revise -- without "shredding" -- the pact with FARC.

He faces off against Gustavo Petro, a former Bogota mayor who received 25 percent of the vote to Duque's 39.7.

A past member of the now disbanded M-19 guerrilla group, Petro is the first leftist to contest a runoff in Colombia.

Promising "change" and to fight corruption and inequality, Petro gained momentum as the campaign progressed, outdistancing two other candidates -- former Medellin mayor Sergio Fajardo and Santos's peace negotiator, Humberto de la Calle.

"It's obviously going to be very polarized in the second round," said analyst Andres Macais.


Related Links
Space War News


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


WAR REPORT
Air strike kills 4 in Yemen rebel-held capital
Sanaa (AFP) May 27, 2018
A woman was among four people killed in an air strike that hit a petrol station in Yemen's rebel-held capital late Saturday, medical sources said. Eleven people were wounded in the air strike on Sanaa, they said. Witnesses said it took place just before sunset as people prepared to break the dawn-to-dusk Islamic fast of Ramadan. It was not immediately clear who had carried out the strike. Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition that has been fighting the Huthi rebels since 2015 t ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WAR REPORT
Study highlights environmental cost of tearing down Vancouver's single-family homes

Bitcoin estimated to use half a percent of the world's electric energy by end of 2018

Top US court to examine India power plant complaint

Portugal's EDP rejects Chinese takeover offer

WAR REPORT
Polymer crystals hold key to record-breaking energy transport

Using 3D X-rays to measure particle movement inside lithium ion batteries

Theory gives free rein to superconductivity at room temperature

Microscopy advance reveals unexpected role for water in energy storage material

WAR REPORT
U.S. Atlantic states eye offshore wind leadership

European wind energy generation potential in a warmer world

New York to world's largest offshore wildlife aerial survey

German utility E.ON sees renewable sector growth

WAR REPORT
Black Bear Energy And Usaa Real Estate Announce 2.4 Megawatt New Jersey Solar Project

LBA Realty's Battery Storage and LED Projects expected to deliver $1.9 million in Energy Savings

Has California put the proper mechanisms in place to succeed with solar mandate?

Conti Solar Begins Construction of Largest Landfill Solar Project in Ohio

WAR REPORT
France: Framatome to supply EDF with Enriched Reprocessed Uranium fuel assemblies

GE Hitachi Announces Dominion Energy as Investor in BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor

Global Nuclear Fuel awarded $250M contract with Entergy

Framatome and Rusatom Automated Control Systems Sign MoU

WAR REPORT
'Deforestation-free' palm oil not as simple as it sounds

Advanced biofuels can be produced extremely efficiently, confirms industrial demonstration

Technique doubles conversion of CO2 to plastic component

Scientists have deciphered the chemical reaction mechanism critical for cleaner combustion

WAR REPORT
Russia: Expect more oil in the second half of the year

New production expected from Norwegian waters

Canadian court shoots down Trans Mountain challenges

Shale gas no panacea, U.N. report finds

WAR REPORT
Families from 8 countries sue EU over climate change

Dutch govt appeals landmark greenhouse gases ruling

Dusty rainfall records reveal new understanding of Earth's long-term climate

Climate change in Quebec equals a much greater diversity of species?









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.