The 18 Colombian soldiers detained by FARC dissidents as they carried out humanitarian demining duties in a rural area of ​​Huila department, in the south of the country, have been evacuated by helicopter, the army said on Saturday.

The institution confirmed that the 16 soldiers and two non-commissioned officers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Battalion No. 5, which was detained on May 31 by the Darío Gutiérrez front of dissidents in the city of Baraya, were evacuated by helicopter to Neiva, capital of Huila, on Friday.

Following this action, “the apparatus of the Ninth Brigade troops, whose mission is the safety of our demining personnel and the community, has been strengthened,” the army added in a statement.

Another measure taken after the military’s detention is the suspension of humanitarian mine clearance in this sector “while the apparatus is reconfigured”.

“Humanitarian demining operations aim to enable the areas to allow the free passage and use of their inhabitants, to free communities from confinement, damage and fear caused by anti-personnel mines, banned weapons installed by organized armed groups in violation of international law the military added. .

The FARC dissidents set fire to a vehicle in which the 18 military deminers were transporting from whom they stole mine detectors and protective clothing when the group was on its way to the hamlet of Río Blanco and armed men “under threat and force stopped the vehicle and left it military personnel descend.

Due to their work, the troops “carried no weapons”, but the attackers stole communications and protection equipment, detectors and “burned the vehicle they were in”.

The Darío Gutiérrez front is said to be part of the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissent of the FARC, which last weekend threatened candidates for the October local elections and politicians after the ceasefire with the government was broken .

This dissent, led by alias “Iván Mordisco”, believes that the partial breach of the bilateral ceasefire in the departments of Caquetá, Meta, Guaviare and Putumayo leaves “the commitments entered into by the parties” unfounded.

The Colombian government has partially suspended the bilateral ceasefire with the EMC following the killing of four indigenous minors who attempted to escape after being forcibly recruited by the Carolina Ramírez Front, another EMC front.

Despite this breach, the government remains ready to set up the dialogue table with this group, led by guerrillas who did not sign the 2016 agreement with the FARC, although there is no planned start date or interlocutors yet.