Colombian army frees 57 soldiers detained by locals
The Colombian military said the incident had been triggered by the arrest of a suspected EMC rebel on Saturday.As the soldiers prepared to airlift the suspect out of the mountainous area, they were surrounded by more than 100 people.A second military unit was then seized the following day by an even larger group of locals, General Erick Rodríguez of the Colombian army said.It was not the first time that members of the security forces were detained by locals, but the size of the group of soldiers was unusually large.In past similar instances, locals negotiated with humanitarian groups and the captured soldiers were released relatively swiftly.But this time, those holding the 57 refused to talk to any go-betweens, triggering the deployment of extra troops to the area to free the captive soldiers.Heavily armed reinforcements were deployed to the area and arrested 20 people, the defence minister said.According to estimates by the military, more than 90% of the inhabitants of the area depend on the cultivation of coca bushes - the plant used to make cocaine - for a living.The presence of soldiers in the area is therefore often seen as a direct threat. The region has also been blighted by the presence of several armed groups which extort farmers and landowners, and engage in illegal mining and cocaine trafficking.
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