57 soldiers rescued after being kidnapped in southwest Colombia
The Colombian army and police rescued 57 soldiers held for two days in a mountainous southwestern region that is under pressure from leftist guerrillas, the military said on X on Monday.
The troops were detained near the village of El Plateado in Cauca province, a strategic area for drug trafficking where security forces launched an operation in October 2024 to expel illegal armed groups.
The region is a stronghold of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal. Authorities accuse the group of recruiting minors and pressuring civilians to resist the presence of state forces.
This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.
