MEXICO CITY: At least six people were killed in Colombia’s Cali and another 12 in the department of Antioquia in terrorist attacks carried out by rebel groups, authorities said.
In Cali, a truck laden with explosives was detonated near a military airbase on Thursday, killing five people and injuring 36, according to media reports. The city’s mayor, Alejandro Eder, later confirmed that “the Cali Ministry of Health reports 65 injured and six dead.”
In a separate attack in Antioquia, rebels shot down a police helicopter, leaving 12 officers dead and four others wounded, the national police said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that he would appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes committed by the Ivan Mordisco and Segunda Marquetalia rebel factions, as well as the Clan del Golfo drug cartel. He urged the international community to recognize them as terrorist organizations and hold them accountable.
“I will appeal to the International Criminal Court to request an investigation into the crimes committed before and during my government that prove these groups are war criminals resorting to terror—criminals against humanity,” Petro said during an agricultural event in Cesar department.
Colombia has endured more than 50 years of armed conflict involving paramilitary groups, costing over 260,000 lives and displacing millions. Petro, who took office in 2022, campaigned on a pledge to achieve lasting peace in the country.
