The minor had been recruited through threats and deceit by the structure under the command of alias Iván Mordisco and had arrived a few months ago in the department of Tolima.
Military operations against former FARC dissidents in the south of the department of Tolima have led to the recovery of minors of these illegal structures. Troops of the Infantry Battalion Nº 17 General Domingo Caicedo of the Sixth Brigade recovered a minor of 15 years of age, in the department of Cauca, in a rural area of the municipality of Chaparral.
The minor had been recruited by the GAO-r Frente Ismael Ruiz, a substructure of the Isaías Pardo Central Bloc, where he was a base guerrilla.
Once recovered, the minor was put under the immediate protection of the Colombian Family Wellbeing Institute (ICBF) and the Ombudsman's Office.
The Sixth Brigade emphatically rejects the use of minors by illegal armed groups, an action that flagrantly violates human rights and International Humanitarian Law.
We invite the young people who are part of these structures to lay down their weapons and take advantage of their youth in educational centers and universities. The way of legality is the best option. Do not fall for false promises: these groups only seek to use you and put your life at risk.
In the same way, citizens are invited to report any case of forced recruitment through the ICBF line 141 or the anti-terrorist line 107.
Source: Press - Fifth Division
