ELN Releases A Woman: Colombia

The guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) released a woman who had kidnapped in the Colombian department of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela, on Friday, reported the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that received the liberated woman. 

“It is essential for us to continue our humanitarian action in areas of conflict and armed violence, because in these places the communities continue to suffer serious consequences and face difficult conditions,” said the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in the Colombian city of Bucaramanga, Nicolas. Lenssens, quoted in an agency statement. 

According to the ICRC, the release took place in a rural area of ​​Arauca and the woman, who is in “adequate health conditions”, will meet with her relatives in the next few hours.

Arauca is one of the departments hardest hit by the armed conflict in the country due to the presence of the ELN and dissent from the FARC, among other groups outside the law, who are fighting for territorial control.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which for its humanitarian work never gives details of the operations in which it participates, also received on Thursday three civilians kidnapped a month ago by the ELN in the Colombian department of Cauca.

The ICRC stated that in the fifty years it has been in Colombia it has facilitated the release of 1,788 people, and reiterated the request to the armed groups not to involve civilians in the conflict.

The ELN began in February 2017 peace negotiations with the previous Colombian Government, which in May 2018 were transferred to Havana.

However, the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, conditioned the continuation of the dialogues on the fact that this guerrilla released all the people he has kidnapped and renounced that and other criminal activities.

The dialogues came to a standstill after the car bomb attack by the ELN on January 17 of last year against a Police School in Bogotá, which left 22 cadets dead and 66 wounded.

Source: https://www.cvbj.biz/eln-releases-a-woman/