By Richard McColl
BOGOTA
Rebel attacks in Colombia have seen 60,000 people lose their water supply and left the government trying to clean up 10,000 gallons of spilled oil.
Over the weekend, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, blew up the aqueduct supplying Granada, south-east of Bogota, while in the southern department of Putumayo FARC ordered drivers to empty the fuel from their tankers, threatening the region’s natural water sources.
The threats come at a time when the El Nino weather system is already causing a drought across large areas of the country.
FARC has been involved in on-going peace talks with the government since 2012 and the recent attacks are seen as attempts to pressure the government into a bilateral ceasefire.
“The government maintains the stance that there will be no ceasefire until we reach a final agreement regarding the dialogues,” Humberto de la Calle, the head of the government negotiating team, told El Espectador newspaper.
“What many Colombians cannot understand are the continuing attacks by the guerrillas against a defenseless civilian population and other attacks against infrastructure and the environment which present serious consequences for the country.”
The peace discussions are set to recommence on August 11.
FARC has been fighting the government since 1964. According to the Colombian Center for Memory, the conflict has resulted in more than 220,000 deaths, 25,000 disappearances, 5.7 million internally displaced people and 27,000 kidnap victims.
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