The Cauca specific command, a military unit of the Third Division of the National Army, informs:
1. On February 10, 2021, in the morning hours, troops of the Ground Operations Battalion No.12, of the Apolo Operational Command, fought against individuals who were apparently members of the residual organized armed group, GAO-r, Estructura Sexta Dagoberto Ramos Ortiz, in a rural area of the municipality of Toribío, north of the Department of Cauca.
2. In retaliation to the pressure exerted by the troops, the members of this structure, under the command of the individual known by the alias David or Cholinga, attacked the civilians throwing an explosive device on a house, without considering the good condition of the inhabitants of the sector and generating distraction to escape.
This action left six people injured, which is undoubtedly a clear violation of human rights and provisions of international humanitarian law, ignoring the principle of distinction.
3. It is important to highlight that military personnel were in the sector exercising territorial control under the constitutional mission of safeguarding and protecting civilians and State resources, obeying early warnings issued by the Ombudsman's Office.
4. The National Army rejects this kind of actions against civilians and will continue to conduct operations, with the firm aim of directly hit the illicit activities and criminal structure of organized armed groups that commit crimes in this area of the country.
