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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Car blast in Colombia kills nine, injures 20 |
| 2010-03-26 |
| [Dawn] A car bomb exploded near the mayor's office in the Colombian port city of Buenaventura on Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others, local authorities said. The death toll has been increasing over the day as some of the critically wounded died in hospital, police said. One of the latest three fatalities included a police officer who, despite his serious wounds managed to evacuate some of the injured from the bomb site, police added. Officials said the blast occurred at around 9:30 am local time. Army General Freddy Padilla blamed leftist militants with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). "Surely this was the FARC," Padilla said. Valle del Cauca Department Governor, Juan Carlos Abadia, said the bombing was "a stumble" in the region's two-year program to stem violence. He said the bombing was part of destabilisation efforts by armed groups. "We're approaching an electoral process (presidential elections on May 30) and they're trying to destabilise, spreading fear and uncertainty," said Abadia without speculating on who was behind the bombing. Defence Minister Gabriel Silva, who travelled to the town in Valle del Cauca state for a meeting on security issues following the blast, said that "all scenarios are evaluated by intelligence (agents)." The explosion was powerful enough to shatter windows in nearby buildings and carve a hole in the street. One of Colombia's poorest cities, Buenaventura, some 550 kilometres from Bogota, faces daily challenges from militants, drug traffickers and other criminals. The port city is a major shipment point for illegal drugs and has been wracked by violence that in five years has left 150 people dead and some 300 injured, police said. On a highway linking Buenaventura to Cali, six trucks and a van were set alight by suspected FARC guerrilla late Monday, without any reports of injuries. |
| Posted by:Fred |