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Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino confirmed on Monday that eight Venezuelan military personnel have died in combat on the border with Colombia. Clashes between the Venezuelan military forces and illegal armed groups have been active for two weeks in the border area of Apure, Venezuela. So far, the Maduro government had only confirmed four casualties among its ranks and the “neutralization” of nine “terrorists.”
After two weeks of intense fighting in the state of Apure, the casualties began to increase. This Monday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino increased to eight the number of fighters of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) killed during clashes with armed groups in the state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.
The conflict flared up more than 15 days ago and, although the information about it is still fragmented, in this the Venezuelan military forces would face off against FARC dissidents and drug traffickers. This was confirmed by the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, which said in a statement that they have destroyed nine camps of irregular groups, deactivated six explosive devices and “neutralized” nine “terrorists” since the beginning of the attacks.
Now, according to Padrino, the casualties among the Venezuelan ranks have increased from four to eight.
“To date there have been nine casualties from these terrorist groups and, unfortunately, we have suffered the loss of eight colleagues from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB),” said the politician at the head of the Defense portfolio in a public appearance about of the fighting, which began on March 21 in Apure.
The conflict, which has displaced nearly 5,000 people so far, still has no clear protagonists. However, some images released by the FANB show uniforms with the logos and acronyms of the FARC, a demobilized guerrilla group that, however, has dissidents that are still operating.
For now, Venezuela and Colombia blame each other for what happened. Maduro’s Executive criticizes his Colombian counterpart, Iván Duque, for “liberating” the irregular groups in the region to cause instability and “not controlling them.”
“There, on that zero side, absences, there is nothing, there is absolutely nothing. I heard from the Colombian press that they were activating seven thousand soldiers in that sector (…) we are still waiting to see them ”, said the Minister of Defense during the press conference on April 5.
In addition, President Nicolás Maduro said that Colombian bandits are using antipersonnel mines against the FANB, devices that have already hit several armored vehicles of the Venezuelan military. For this reason, the socialist president asked the United Nations for help on Sunday to defuse the bombs on Venezuelan soil.
Although, according to the Bolivarian Government, an attempt is being made to neutralize the artifacts by all means. Padrino assured that 16 explosive devices have been “deactivated” in the vicinity of the town of La Victoria, in Apure, the epicenter of the conflict.
Venezuela was declared a country free of antipersonnel mines, after complying with the requirements of the Ottawa Treaty, but the confrontation in the territory of Apure is generating doubts about this condition.
On the other side of the border, in Colombia, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office coincided with the judgment on the presence of dissidents from the FARC and the ELN – another guerrilla group – in the area, who decided not to adhere to the 2016 Peace Accords. However, there are serious doubts about the performance of the Venezuelan military in the area, since several complaints have been filed against them for opening fire on civilians in the area.
At the moment, the figures from the Caracas official party indicate that 34 members of the Army have been injured and that 21 already have a medical discharge.
The FANB’s plan to combat irregular groups
The Venezuelan Executive claims to be willing to go with everything to end the conflict. By order of Maduro, a “special defense” zone will be activated in the region. A special division will also be sent, the ‘Black First’, with all the necessary equipment for combat.
Attention will focus on the municipalities of Páez, Muñoz and Romulo Gallegos as “hot” areas, where most of the clashes have taken place. In addition, the military will be free to carry out inspections or stop traffic in both public and private areas if they deem it necessary.
In the same way, they will impose “restrictions of hours for the operation of places”, in addition to implementing security control measures “to guarantee public services and citizen peace.”
With relations between Colombia and Venezuela completely broken – after the former recognized Juan Guaidó as president of the country – cooperation between the two countries is very difficult.
And those who have it most complicated are those displaced by the conflict: around 5,000 people have already sought refuge in the Colombian area of Arauquita. But, the situation there is not much better, since there is also a large presence of irregular armed groups.
Last year, the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Pares) warned that in the department of Arauca there was a presence of the Décimo Martín Villa front – linked to the FARC -. And, with their involvement in the Apure conflict, some assure that what is being lived on the border with Venezuela is a “war”.
Despite the growing humanitarian crisis in the border area, the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense assured that after more than two weeks of clashes and a total of 17 deaths, “the region is returning to normal.” However, several humanitarian organizations, which have had to suspend their activity in the area due to the clashes, they show concern about it.
With EFE and local media
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source https://pledgetimes.com/venezuela-confirmed-eight-soldiers-killed-in-combat-on-the-border-with-colombia/
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