Explosive device kills 20 and injures 36 on bus in Colombia
At least 26 such incidents have taken place in the last two days, amid a wave of violence linked to drug-trafficking
The death toll from an explosives attack on a highway in southwestern Colombia rose to 20 on Sunday, authorities said, as the government blamed a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group for the bombing.
The attack happened on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzman, governor of the region of Cauca.
He wrote on social media that the attack injured 36 others, three of whom are in intensive care. Guzman noted that five of the injured are minors who are expected to recover.
Colombia’s Institute of Legal Medicine said specialists including dentists, anthropologists and forensic doctors are identifying the victims.
General Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia’s Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act” and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” – one of Colombia’s most wanted figures – and the Jaime Martinez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martinez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.