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FARC dissident group claims abduction of Colombian soldier and says hostage is alive Image: Archivo
🇲🇽 Mexico /Conflict & Security

FARC dissident group claims abduction of Colombian soldier and says hostage is alive

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Colombia’s Estado Mayor Central, a dissident group from the former FARC, claimed responsibility for abducting French Foreign Legion corporal José Olger Melo Charry in Nariño on Aug. 6.
  • The group said the soldier was alive and receiving medical care and food, but conditioned his safety on an end to military attacks in the area.
  • Colombian authorities suspect he may be held with other kidnapped soldiers, while the group threatened retaliation against any rescue operation.

The Estado Mayor Central, the largest dissident group from Colombia’s former FARC guerrilla, says a French Foreign Legion soldier it abducted is alive. The group identified him as Corporal José Olger Melo Charry and said he was in good health, receiving medical care and adequate food.

He is alive, in perfect health, and has received proper medical attention and food.

— Estado Mayor CentralThe dissident group described the condition of the abducted French Foreign Legion soldier.

The Colombian Army said Melo Charry was taken on Aug. 6 while traveling on a road in Nariño, a southwestern department bordering Ecuador. A woman traveling with him was also held but released several hours later, according to local authorities.

The 34- or 35-year-old corporal had arrived in Colombia one day before the abduction. France’s Defense Ministry said he held permission to stay in metropolitan France but not to travel to Colombia. The EMC’s claim appeared in a statement written in French, and a police source confirmed its authenticity to AFP.

His physical integrity is fully guaranteed as long as no hostile military operation is carried out in the area where he was abducted.

— Estado Mayor CentralThe group conditioned the hostage’s safety on the absence of military action.

The group, commanded by Iván Mordisco, said the soldier’s physical safety would remain guaranteed only if Colombian security forces stopped hostile operations against its members in the area. It blamed President Abelardo De la Espriella for any attempt to conduct a military rescue that could endanger the hostage and warned that every military action would receive a response.

Any attempt at a military rescue operation that endangers the life of the prisoner of war will be the responsibility of the new president, Abelardo De la Espriella.

— Estado Mayor CentralThe group warned Colombia’s president against attempting a military rescue.

Colombia’s Army suspects Melo Charry is being held in an Andean mountain area with other Colombian soldiers who have been kidnapped. The abduction adds to a period of severe violence that has followed the 2016 peace agreement, which demobilized most of the FARC. The EMC rejected that agreement and continues to challenge De la Espriella’s government as it pursues a hard-line policy against drug-trafficking groups.

Every military action will receive a response.

— Estado Mayor CentralThe dissident group threatened retaliation for military operations.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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