Venezuela soldiers allegedly beat several Guyanese at border

Guyana, Venezuela (Credit: Caribbean360/Bigstock)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Monday June 30, 2014, CMC - A number of Guyanese were reportedly beaten by Venezuelan soldiers at the north-western border Guyana shares with its Spanish-speaking neighbour days ago.

While offering no comment on reports of the assault on the Guyanese, the Guyana Defence Force’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, was Saturday quoted assuring that it was not a clash of armies as no Guyanese soldiers were involved in the alleged incident, Friday.

“We have some reports of an altercation that we are investigating… nothing to do with Guyanese soldiers. There are no Guyanese soldiers stationed there,” he told one local media house.

According to a number of media, reports are that ‘rogue’ Venezuelan soldiers crossed the border and assaulted a group of men and women miners in an area called ‘Bruk- up Falls’, located on the Guyana side of the bordering Amakura River, in the North West District.

“They were taken from Bruk-Up Falls after more than two dozen armed soldiers attached to the Venezuelan military descended on the location and proceeded to beat and handcuff the Guyanese men who were in the area at the time” one report stated.

There have so far been no further reports on the location and well-being of the Guyanese.

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Guyana has a decades-old land dispute with Venezuela, which has laid claim to a significant portion of the CARICOM country. During the rule of late Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, he agreed with Guyana authorities to have the issue settled through a United Nations-appointed ‘Good Officer’. A process which continues.

But since his passing there have been several incidents between the two countries on land and in the territorial waters, with the latest being an incursion of Venezuelan soldiers into Guyana last year.

Observers believe that the 2013 incursion and other similar incidents were instigated by forces opposed to the Government of Chavez’ successor, President Nicholas Maduro, hoping to soil his declared continued friendly relations with Guyana.

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Venezuela soldiers allegedly beat several Guyanese at border

Colombian soldiers killed in ambush

24 August 2013 Last updated at 22:12 ET The government’s negotiating team is due to resume talks with the Farc on Monday At least 13 Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by Farc left-wing rebels in the east of the country, the army says.

Last month, 15 soldiers were killed by the rebel group in the same region.

Even though Farc rebels and the government are holding peace talks in Cuba, both sides are continuing to target each other militarily.

On Friday the Farc announced a “pause” in the talks and the government later withdrew its team of negotiators.

However, the talks are expected to resume soon.

Saturday’s attack occurred in the eastern province of Arauca.

A statement by the Colombian army command said: “After a terrorist action by the Farc, two non-commissioned officers and 11 soldiers were killed and another one injured.”

As news of the attack became public, the government’s chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said President Juan Manuel Santos had instructed his team to return to the negotiating table.

The Farc announced a “pause” in order to study a proposal that any peace deal must be put to a referendum.

The talks began last November, and the Farc’s move was the first time either side had broken off negotiations other than for planned recesses.

The latest round was focusing on the eventual participation of the rebels in Colombian politics.

So far, the two sides have reached agreement on land reform, the first of six points on their agenda.

A recent study by Colombia’s National Centre for Historical Memory suggested 220,000 people have died as a result of the five decades of conflict.

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Colombian soldiers killed in ambush

UK soldiers assist Afghan operation

28 July 2013 Last updated at 00:09 ET The Ministry of Defence said there had been no British casualties in the operation (file picture) British soldiers have returned to an area of Afghanistan for a week-long operation to clear Taliban insurgents.

Afghan military commanders requested assistance in Sangin district, an area British forces defended from the Taliban until 2010, earlier this month.

About 80 members of 4th Battalion The Rifles, based at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, were involved.

The Ministry of Defence said some insurgents were killed or captured but there were no British casualties.

Weapons seized

According to the Sunday Times, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond had personally authorised the return to the area for British forces.

It said 106 British personnel were killed in fighting there between 2006 and 2010.

The paper said the threat to the troops was considered so great that, at the MoD’s request, it delayed reporting the operation until it had finished.

The British involvement was part of a major operation by 215 Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to clear insurgents in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, in the south.

The operation saw troops from the UK-mentored 3/215 Brigade move north into Sangin, clearing compounds and seizing insurgent weapon stashes alongside soldiers from 2/215 Brigade.

The Brigade Advisory Group, made up of 4th Battalion The Rifles, provided support to 3/215 Brigade.

During the operation, more than 30 improvised explosive devices were found and destroyed by the ANA, and two insurgent vehicles were seized along with ammunition and weapons.

‘Challenging area’

The Ministry of Defence said UK personnel occasionally operated outside of the usual British area of operations in central Helmand in an advisory capacity.

“These out-of-area operations have been a long-standing element of the UK mission in Afghanistan and are completely in line with our current role of providing training, advice and assistance to the Afghan National Security Forces,” a spokesman said.

“Between 2006 and 2010, UK forces provided vital security for the population of Sangin, disrupting the insurgency in an area the Taliban had considered its heartland, preventing the spread of violence elsewhere, upholding the authority of the Afghan government in the area and enabling economic development to take place.

“Much was achieved then and has been since. It remains a challenging area and it is now for the Afghan forces to deal with the residual insurgency.”

Brig Rupert Jones, Commander Task Force Helmand, said the operation had demonstrated further how effective 3/215 Brigade of the ANA had become.

“Operating in Sangin over the past week, they have moved to another level of performance and independence,” he said.

“It has been a very impressive demonstration of what the Afghan National Army can be capable of.”

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UK soldiers assist Afghan operation