BOGOTA, Colombia — The number of people killed in a bombing in a volatile region in southwestern Colombia rose to 20, officials said Sunday.
The attack happened Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzmán, governor of the region of Cauca.
He wrote on X that the attack injured 36 others, three of whom are in intensive care. Five of the injured are minors, who are expected to recover, Guzmán said.
Guzmán declared three days of mourning starting Sunday.
Colombia’s Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences said specialists including dentists, anthropologists and forensic doctors are identifying the victims.
The bombing is the latest attack in the region, with more than two dozen incidents reported in the last three days in southwestern Colombia. The region is home to armed groups who vie for control of coca leaf cultivation areas and for sea and river access routes to run drug trafficking operations to Central America and Europe.
Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, has described the incident as a terrorist act. He blamed it on separate networks run by Iván Mordisco — one of Colombia’s most wanted figures — and Jaime Martínez. Mordisco and Martínez are dissidents from the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, who operate in the region.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the attacks against the civilian population and called on authorities to investigate the incidents and “guarantee justice for the victims.”
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