In the afternoon, during a day of training inside a battalion in the municipality of Patía in Cauca, five soldiers were injured after the explosion of a grenade.
The incident occurred at the premises of the 29th Instruction and Retraining Battalion, while a training exercise was being carried out in the shooting and testing of artillery systems.
According to the first investigations carried out by the Third Division Command of the National Army, the grenade would have exploded when there was a failure to fire it, resulting in three soldiers injured and two injured, one by a shrapnel in the ankle and the other by stunning, who were taken to the hospital in El Bordo, where they are being treated and according to the preliminary medical report there are no serious injuries.
Likewise, the Third Division announced that the facts are the subject of investigation, so an inspection commission of the National Army Command was moved, with a team of experts who will verify the processes and procedures carried out in this exercise, to initiate the corresponding internal investigation to clarify the situation and take the appropriate legal action.
Finally, the Army sent him “a message of support to the families of our men who were compromised and we continue to provide support during their medical evolution” as the statement read.
Here you can read the press release from the Third Division
On March 21, the Colombian National Army announced that after a counterintelligence operation, which it carried out jointly with the Police and the Attorney General's Office, it succeeded in the capture of five soldiers of the institution and one individual who had a court order against them.
Those captured are accused of being allegedly responsible for the crimes of concert to commit an aggravated crime, embezzled for appropriation in homogeneous and successive competition and trafficking, manufacture and carrying of weapons, ammunition for restricted use, for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces.
After the joint operation carried out by the above-mentioned institutions, those arrested were placed at the disposal of the competent authorities, “who will advance their prosecution process and will be the ones who will determine whether they are responsible,” the Army explained in a statement, where it also clarified that the capture procedures were carried out in the municipality of Tumaco, Nariño.
In view of the recent civilian attack on the military base 'La Esperanza', the authorities of El Tarra, Norte de Santander, warned that there is a humanitarian crisis in this area of Catatumbo. The National Army said in a press release that “about two hundred people, apparently mostly Venezuelan nationals, tried to break through security and enter the military base in a tumultuary and violent manner.”
The military also indicated that, according to preliminary inquiries, “these violent acts would have involved criminal involvement alias Jhon Mechas and alias Pedro, leaders of the criminal structure of the Gao-r E33 Residual Organized Armed Group”. They also stated that due to the sound of the sound 17 people were injured and one death was recorded.
According to the Army, this GAO aims to “attack the security forces and inhabitants of the region, through the manufacture and use of improvised explosive devices”. In turn, they explained that those who participated in the event threw explosive devices and fired rifle fire, which left countless material damage in the vicinity of the military base.
“Similarly, improvised explosive devices located near the base were deactivated, actions that violate human rights and violate the norms of international humanitarian law, conduct that will be reported to the authorities,” the Army said in the press release.
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