Clashes with a dissident faction of the FARC rebel army led to the downing of a police helicopter.
The attack took place as the police were overseeing the eradication of coca crops in the northwestern Antioquia department. (EPA Images pic)
BOGOTA: Eight Colombian police officers were killed and eight others injured Thursday in clashes with a dissident faction of the FARC rebel army which downed a police helicopter, the defense ministry and police reported.
The attack took place as the police were overseeing the eradication of coca crops – coca leaves are the main ingredient in cocaine – in the northwestern Antioquia department, home to the city of Medellin.
Images shared on social media showed the helicopter caught in crossfire before being hit by a drone and crashing to the ground in a cloud of black smoke.
It was not clear whether the dead officers were killed in the crash or on the ground.
Defense minister Pedro Sanchez initially blamed the attack on the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s biggest drug cartel, which has killed dozens of security force members since 2023.
But he later said the attack was the work of a faction of the Central General Staff (EMC) guerrilla group, which broke away from the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after it agreed to lay down arms in 2016.
Colombia is enduring its worst outburst of violence since the historic 2016 peace deal with FARC, one of the world’s oldest rebel movements.
Left-wing president Gustavo Petro came to office in 2022 on a promise to pursue “total peace” in Colombia by engaging in dialogue with all remaining armed groups.
But during that time, several groups have grown stronger and expanded the rural territories under their control.
In recent months, the EMC has responded to a military offensive with car bombs and explosive drone attacks that have killed several security force members as well as civilian bystanders.
