The Colombian Army releases 57 soldiers detained by locals

Fifty -seven soldiers, who were held captured by locals in the mountains of Colombia by the weekend, were released into a military operation, said Colombian Defense Minister.

Minister Pedro Sanchez said no shot had been fired at what he called “Operation” Justice.

The soldiers were seized in the Kauka area, a fortress of the EMC rebel group, which is involved in the production of cocaine and traffic.

Sanchez accused the EMK of what he described as “abduction of the soldiers”, saying that the locals who seized them were ordered to do so by the rebels.

The Colombian military said the incident was triggered by the arrest of a suspected EMC rebel on Saturday.

As the soldiers were preparing to throw away suspects from the mountainous area, they were surrounded by more than 100 people.

The next day, a second military unit was seized from an even larger group of locals, said General Eric Rodriguez of the Colombian army.

It is not the first time that the members of the security forces were detained by the locals, but the size of the group of soldiers was unusually large.

In past such cases, locals negotiated with humanitarian groups and the captured soldiers were released relatively quickly.

But this time, those who hold 57 refused to talk to any rotating, triggering the deployment of additional troops in the area to release the captive soldiers.

Highly armed reinforcements were located in the area and 20 people arrested, the Minister of Defense said.

According to the military’s estimates, more than 90% of the residents of the area depend on the cultivation of coca -yracles – the plant used to prepare cocaine – for their livelihood.

Therefore, the presence of soldiers in the area is often seen as a direct threat.

The area has also been sunk by the presence of several armed groups that blackmail farmers and landowners, and are involved in illegal cocaine and cocaine trafficking.