The violence took a dramatic turn this weekend in Colombia. A 12-year-old child was killed and 18 other people, including several minors, were injured Saturday night in a bomb attack outside a police station in Bogota, authorities said on Sunday.
“One of the seven injured children, barely 12 years old, died at dawn,” Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez wrote on Twitter. “We unfortunately have a five-year-old girl in a very serious condition,” she added, pointing out that she had been hit in the head. Two police officers injured in this attack are in “stable” condition.
The second attack of the month
The children were “playing” near the police station during the explosion, explained the mayor of the capital, specifying that it was the second attack of the same kind in this popular district, “Ciudad Bolivar”, since the beginning of the month.
The explosive was placed in a suitcase in front of the police station and “triggered remotely by telephone”, explained Defense Minister Diego Molano. An “identical mechanism” had been used on March 5 in the bomb attack on another police station in the same district, the minister said.
A reward of 80,000 dollars
The authorities have offered a reward of 80,000 dollars (72,800 euros) for any information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of this latest attack. Colombian President Ivan Duque shared his “deep pain” on Twitter.
Colombia is experiencing a serious resurgence of violence by armed groups: dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, Marxist) who reject the peace agreement, National Liberation Army (ELN, Guevarist), the last recognized guerrilla in the country, heirs paramilitary groups demobilized in 2006, and other drug trafficking groups such as the Clan del Golfo.