Six Colombian soldiers killed in clashes with FARC holdout fighters

At least six Colombian soldiers died Tuesday in clashes with holdout fighters from the former rebel group FARC, the army said.

It was the worst attack by the renegade FARC fighters since they said in September they were willing to negotiate laying down their weapons.

Army forces in a rural area of southwest Cauca department were attacked with grenades, improvised explosive devices and gunfire, the army said.

President Gustavo Petro, the country's first leftist leader, who is seeking peace with all remaining guerrilla forces, said the soldiers killed in the attack were 18 to 20 years old.

Also Read | Magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes near Mongolia's Sainshand

"It was an infiltration operation," by one of the main factions of dissidents, said Petro, speaking after a meeting of the country's security council.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, were once the most fearsome rebel army in Latin America. The group signed a peace accord with the government in 2016 to end more than five decades of conflict.

But some FARC members rejected that accord and have continued to battle government forces. These holdout fighters are divided into various factions.

They total about 5,200 rebels, according to the Indepaz think tank.

FARC itself became a political party that is guaranteed a small number of seats in Congress.

Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

When Petro took power in August, he vowed to negotiate with all armed groups in the country as part of his "total peace" policy. There are currently around 90 political and criminal groups operating in Colombia, according to Indepaz.

Petro and aides have met with leaders of the two main factions of FARC dissidents with an eye to setting up peace talks.

One of these factions, Frente Primero, or First Front, which is the biggest holdout group, said in September it would reduce attacks against government forces to work toward a ceasefire and peace.

This faction includes the unit that the army blamed for Tuesday's attacks.

Petro vowed a "reaction" from security forces, and said that military operations against the dissidents "will not stop as long as there is no real will to negotiate."

Bogota last month resumed talks with the powerful National Liberation Army (ELN), the last recognized rebel group in the country.

On Wednesday, negotiations will begin with two powerful rival gangs in western Buenaventura, who are involved in drug trafficking, in what Petro said was an unprecedented process of "urban pacification."

According to government statistics released on Monday, the army has carried out 108 operations, captured 4,308 suspects and neutralized 1,200 cocaine production laboratories since Petro came to power.

"We do not intend to cede an inch of national territory to crime, to drug trafficking, to outlaws who are not involved in any of the processes put in place to move towards total peace," Interior Minister Alfons Prada said on Monday.