Army alleges war crime after body of dead soldier stolen in Cauca
Dissident Farc members took the body of a soldier killed in Cauca. The Army classified the incident as a war crime.
Farc takes possession of body of soldier killed in combat in Cauca
Dissident factions of the Farc stole the body of a National Army soldier killed during clashes in the department of Cauca, according to reporting by eltiempo.com. The military institution denounced the incident as a war crime and publicly lamented the removal of the body: "They took our hero," military spokespeople declared.
The incident occurred in the south-western part of the country, an area where Farc dissident factions maintain intense armed activity against Army units. The clashes in which the uniformed officer lost his life took place within the framework of regular operations against illegal armed groups in the region.
The Army did not specify, at the time of the report, the total number of casualties from the clash or the name of the deceased soldier. The removal of the body constitutes, according to the institution, a violation of international humanitarian law, which requires armed actors to guarantee the return of the remains of deceased combatants.
This type of action has been documented in armed conflicts as a tactic of psychological pressure and denial of evidence. The Army did not indicate whether it had initiated formal proceedings before national or international bodies to recover the body of the uniformed officer.
Source: Google News CO — Crime