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Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador to Strengthen Border Security
Officials from Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador will meet soon to discuss ways of beefing up security along their common borders in an effort to prevent the armed conflict in Colombia from spilling over, the Colombian military said Tuesday.
The planned meeting will also tackle the issue of refugees fleeing renewed fighting between Colombian government troops and the country's leftist rebel forces, the military said. It did not provide further details.
The Colombian government troops launched all-out offensives against the country's two largest rebel forces, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), early last month after peace talks with them broke off.
Both the FARC and ELN were hammered and forced to retreat to remote mountainous areas and border areas. The flare-up of fighting has sent thousands of local residents fleeing to neighboring countries. In Ecuador alone, there are currently 3,639 Colombian asylum seekers.
Mounting tensions in border areas have aroused grave concern among Colombia's neighbors. Peru had reportedly reinforced troops in its northern Amazon region bordering Colombia to stem any possible disturbance and arms smuggling and drug trafficking by Colombian insurgents. Ecuador and Venezuela have both tightened up border controls and set up interim bodies to deal with the refugee issue.
Meanwhile, the Colombian military has augmented the exchange of intelligence and security cooperation with their counterparts in neighboring nations.
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