Professional soldier killed by ELN sniper in Saravena, Arauca

According to a report by the National Army, troops belonging to the number 18 Mechanized Cavalry Group were surprised while carrying out search and area control operations in the village known as Puerto Nariño, from the municipality of Saravena, Arauca.

In the heat of military action, professional soldier Luis Fernando Gómez Serpa was injured by part of a sniper of the THEN. Private Gómez later died while receiving priority care in a medical center for this population.

In an official press release, the national army He stressed that military operations were being carried out in search of those responsible for the crime:

At present, military operations continue to be carried out to find the whereabouts of those responsible for this reprehensible terrorist act, which violates human rights and international humanitarian law.

Likewise, he sent his condolences to the relatives of the military via his Twitter account:

We reject the assassination of soldier Luis Fernando Gómez Serpa, which occurred while he was carrying out operations to ensure security in Arauca. This despicable fact goes against IHL and Human Rights. Sincere condolences to the family and friends of this # HéroePorSiempre

Arauca: epicenter of attacks by criminal groups

The eastern department of Colombia maintains a worrying situation of tension, as criminal groups, such as dissidents and drug traffickers, seek to destabilize the population through attacks on infrastructure, the public force and the civilian population.

Just a week ago, the military thwarted an explosive attack in Fortul hours after the police station was attacked with grenades and bullets. of this population and the incineration of a public service bus, on the road from Arauca to Corocoro, about 8 kilometers from the urban area of ​​the municipality.

On the other hand, another man in uniform was killed by the actions of an ELN sniper during the third week of June.

Corporal Primero Jhonier Alexis Maldonado Vargas was killed after a bullet to the head allegedly came from a sniper from the Camilo Cienfuegos Commission from the ELN’s Domingo Laín Sanz front.

In accordance with the provisions of the Army, the death of the man in uniform occurred in the middle of a warlike fight, at the end of the evening in the village of Santa Isabel, jurisdiction of the border municipality of Arauquita, when a group of men in uniform moved through the area.

Intelligence information showed that there is a presence of Commission Ernesto Che Guevara of the ELN and dissidents of the 10th and 28th fronts of the Farc.

The situation in Fortul came to a head on Wednesday, June 30, when Two attacks were confirmed against an army battalion and the police station in the municipality of Fortul, in the department of Arauca.

According to the first data released at the time of the attacks, the events took place simultaneously with firearms and cluster grenades late at night.

The latter would have been used against the police station, located in the heart of the city, while attacks with unconventional weapons and unidentified explosives they concentrated against the Military Forces present in the area, which were forced to respond to the fire, despite the proximity of the civilian population to the neighborhoods surrounding the battalion.

In the absence of an official version, it is presumed that the perpetrators of the attack They may be members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) or FARC dissidents.

In the escalation of violence in the region, there have been other deaths among the civilian population, such as the one that occurred on June 10 when Danilo Galindo’s murder has been confirmed, Civil servant in the office of the mayor of the municipality, dedicated to working with the indigenous communities of the department.