COLOMBIA-REBELS/KIDNAP FARC admits to capture of Colombian soldier, straining ceasefire efforts

Record ID: 147677

  • Title: COLOMBIA-REBELS/KIDNAP FARC admits to capture of Colombian soldier, straining ceasefire efforts
  • Date: 10th July 2015
  • Summary: SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, COLOMBIA (FILE) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GUERRILLAS IN REBEL AREA
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cuba
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAKYH8NKEXB13CLPX7TFP2TDBJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Colombia's FARC guerrilla group has admitted that it has captured a junior army officer in recent fighting, and has called on the Colombian government to end search and rescue missions to retrieve the soldier.
    Shortly after announcing a one-month ceasefire to support peace negotiations, the rebel group released a video saying FARC's Front 32 captured second lieutenant Cristian Moscoso Rivera was captured in skirmishes in the country's Putumayo region.
    "FARC central command report that sub-lieutenant Christian Moscoso Rivera from jungle brigade number 27 of the sixth division of the national army is being held by Front 32 as a result of fighting between the FARC and the army in El Libano village on Mansoya-Santana road," said Joaquin Gomez, a member of the FARC secretariat currently.
    The insurgent group is currently locked in tense talks with the Colombian government in Havana to seek an end to a 51-year conflict that has killed almost a quarter of a million people.
    Previous negotiation rounds have been threatened by battlefield violence. Seeking to avert any threats to peace talks, Gomez called on the Colombian government to end search and rescue efforts for the officer to facilitate his prompt release.
    "We call on the national government to stop search operations so as to avoid a situation that threatens the life of this officer. We invite the government to proceed with the relevant protocols for the prompt release of second lieutenant Moscoso," added Gomez.
    In December, FARC rebels released a soldier shortly after he was captured during an ambush on an army patrol. The release was part of conciliatory efforts between both sides to secure a peace deal in 2015.
    Speaking to media in Bogota, the commander of Colombia's army, General Alberto Mejia, called on rebels to follow battle protocols and attend to any medical needs the soldier might need following his capture.
    "I call on the FARC as well as the Colombian army to always take the moral line and attend to those rebels injured in combat and to take them in our helicopters for immediate attention. Also, you should secure the life of our officer and take responsibility for his safety and his life," said Mejia.
    Family and friends of the captured soldier have petitioned for his release, urging the rebel group and government to come together to secure his release.
    "We ask the members of the FARC and the government to come to an agreement, that the government suspend military operations for a prompt release. Please, (can) an international humanitarian body like the Red Cross help us, make us feel that we're not alone in this," said family member, Luis Paez.
    The FARC was formed in 1964, mushrooming out of a peasant movement demanding land reform and has fought successive governments in a mainly rural conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and uprooted millions from their homes.
    Peace talks have advanced despite a near-constant backdrop of fighting since they began. The five points on the agenda include victim reparations, agricultural reform, eliminating the cocaine trade, demobilisation and rebel political participation.
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