FARC rebels burn two U.N. vehicles in southeastern Colombia

An armed group of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels attacked a United Nations convoy in southeastern Colombia, burning two vehicles but leaving officials unharmed in the process.

According to the U.N., workers were travelling to the rural area of Guayabero with members of the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Norwegian Refugee Council when “they were approached by armed men who made them get out of their vehicle” in the town of Puerto Nuevo.

After “two of the three vehicles were set on fire,” the U.N. workers “returned unharmed” to their offices, according to the statement from the mission that monitors adherence to a 2016 peace deal between former FARC rebels and the Colombian government.

Emilio Archila, a senior advisor to the Colombian presidency, told reporters that the “criminals presented themselves as dissidents,” under the command of Gentil Duarte, one of Colombia’s most wanted men.

Since the 2016 peace agreement was signed, about 13,000 rebels have allegedly been disarmed. However, at least 5,000 members rejected the deal and continue to fight – with violence increasing in recent months along the border with Venezuela.

According to the Indepaz research institute, approximately 90 armed groups with some 10,000 members remain active in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producing country.

A 2018 report released by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory showed that more than 260,000 people — mostly civilians — died from violence during six decades of guerrilla conflict in Colombia. The report also found that most of the 80,000 people who disappeared were never found. More than 37,000 of those killed were victims of kidnappings, and nearly 15,700 were victims of sexual violence.