Nearly 50 families of the Department of Caquetá, today enjoy territories free of suspicion of contamination by explosive devices, thanks to the work carried out by soldiers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Battalion n. ° 1, who destroyed four antipersonnel mines and two unexploded ordnance.
The works carried out 15 meters of the road that connects the hamlets of Norcacia, El Rosal and Alto Sinaí of the municipality of Florencia, in the department of Caquetá, resulted in the discovery of two antipersonnel mines that were built in metal containers and had a system of activation by pressure. It should be noted that, apparently, the devices had been planted on the site for two years, being a deadly weapon for all the peasants who pass by the area conducting livestock and timber extraction activities. With this destruction the soldiers cleared about 1,500 square meters.
At the same time, more than 22,000 square meters of a leafy area of vegetation in Florencia, were decontaminated, by eliminating a non-exploded ammunition.
Another antipersonnel mine that allegedly was planted four years ago by organized armed groups, was destroyed in the hamlet La Pradera, municipality of San José del Fragua, thus clearing 851 square meters of that area.
Later, on an old road in the village of Las Delicias, municipality of Doncello, the Bicentennial Heroes put an end to five years of anguish lived by the inhabitants of that part of Caquetá, due to the presence of explosive devices. This is how the manual demining technique is used to find an antipersonnel mine, clearing 1,315 square meters, where villagers said they will return to cultivate plantations of cassava, corn and latex.
Meanwhile, in research work in the village of San Luis in the municipality of Belén de los Andaquíes, the community reported the presence of an unexploded ammunition 350 meters from a house. The Non-Technical Study team proceeded with the respective marking and destruction of the deadly trap that had been in the sector for approximately five years and that prevented residents from using nearly 50,000 square meters of their land, which will now be used to the production of cheese, milk and fish farming.
The soldiers of Colombia advance so that the department of Caquetá get free of antipersonnel mines.
Source: National Army
