The permanent operations in rural area of northern Huila have led to neutralize the plans of the residual organized groups, GAO, structure 17.
The information provided by the Civic Participation Network, added to the intelligence work of the units of the Artillery Battalion No.9 'Tenerife' of the Ninth Brigade, have led to counteract the intentions of the residual Organized Armed Groups against the Security forces and the civil population. The operations led to the discovery and controlled destruction of an Improvised Explosive Device - IED – gas cylinder type.
The illegal method of warfare, prohibited in the rules of International Humanitarian Law, was found during search and control operations in the village La Libertad, in the municipality of Baraya, north of the department of Huila.
After the security protocols, the Explosives and Demolitions Team - Exde -, destroyed the device in a safe way, counteracting the threat that this type of unconventional weapons represent for the peasant population.
It is noteworthy that in addition to the physical and psychological damage that these elements produce to their victims, the activation of these deadly traps generates significant pollution that hits the soil, air and water resources.
After the explosions, erosive processes are produced, degradation of the layers of the soil and infertility of the land, as a consequence of the chemicals that contain the IED. Additionally, the majority of the elements are planted near rivers and streams, causing the environmental poisoning falls directly on the water, deteriorating the quality of water and generating the death of aquatic animals.
During 2019 the battalions of the Ninth Brigade have achieved the neutralization of 111 explosive elements, including antipersonnel mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, thus helping to clean up the Huila camps of these types of threats.
Source: Ninth Brigade - National Army
