Colombia’s
leaders and main rebel groups pledged Sunday that a mall bombing that killed
three women would not disrupt the country’s peace process, though authorities
were scrambling to discover who was responsible for the carnage.
The victims
two Colombians and a Frenchwoman perished when a device exploded in a ladies’
toilet in the crowded Andino shopping center in Bogota on Saturday. At least
nine people were also wounded, officials said.
President
Juan Manuel Santos called the incident a terrorist attack.
Rebel groups
condemned the blast and said it was an attempt to undermine their steps along
with the government to end Colombia’s half-century civil conflict.
Police said
the explosion occurred at about 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) on Saturday, leaving people
to run for their lives in panic.
“There was a
strong boom and the floor shook,” said shop worker Milena Carcenas.
“There was
smoke coming out of the bathroom. People were coming out of there covered in
ash.”
National
police chief General Jorge Nieto told reporters “a device” was placed “behind
one of the toilets in the women’s bathroom.”
Witness
Andres Bermudez, his hands still trembling after the attack, said people were
crying at the scene.
“It’s a
miracle I’m alive,” he told AFP outside the mall, which he was visiting to pay
some bills.
Raining on
peace
The
explosion comes at a delicate time for Colombia’s historic peace process. The
country’s biggest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), is scheduled to complete its disarmament by Tuesday.
The last
active rebel force, the National Liberation Army (ELN), meanwhile, has started
talks with the government, though confrontations with state forces have been
continuing.
“Those who
want to rain on the peace parade will not succeed,” said Santos, who won a
Nobel Peace Prize last year for sealing an accord with FARC leaders.
“If this
(bombing) is that kind of gesture, then rest assured that we will pursue those
enemies of peace without rest and without quarter,” he said, speaking at the
site of the blast.
The peace
deal was initially narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum, with critics
saying it had been too lenient on the FARC.
A redrafted
agreement from Santos and the FARC has since been pushed through congress.
Life as
normal
“Terrorists
are not going to change our ways,” Santos said, urging Colombians to continue
their normal lives and enjoy the Father’s Day holiday, though he did not
identify who could be behind Saturday’s attack.
A security
council meeting will take place Sunday “to discuss further steps to ensure calm
in Bogota,” he added.
Bogota Mayor
Enrique Penalosa called Saturday’s incident “a cowardly terrorist attack.”
He said the
Frenchwoman who died, aged 23, had spent six months working in a school in a
poor neighborhood.
The leftist
ELN said on Twitter it “condemns this deplorable incident,” noting that the
attack was “against civilians.”
“We share
the pain and stand in solidarity with the victims,” the group wrote. “The state
should investigate thoroughly to identify those responsible.”
The leader
of the communist-inspired FARC, Rodrigo Londono — known as Timochenko — also
denounced the explosion.
“This act
can only come from those who want to close the roads of peace and
reconciliation,” he wrote on Twitter.
The blast
was the second major attack this year in the Colombian capital.
In February
the ELN claimed responsibility for a bombing at a bullring in Bogota, which
killed a police officer and wounded more than 20 people.
‘Far-right
paramilitary’ theory
Colombia’s
civil conflict erupted in 1964 over land rights. It has drawn in leftist
guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups and state forces.
Analyst
Victor Currea-Logo of Colombia’s National University said it was unlikely
either of the leftist groups involved in the peace drive would have carried out
the attack.
But he told
AFP: “There are some far-right paramilitary-style groups who have been
responsible for killing civil leaders and for actions against the peace
effort.”
Efforts to
disrupt the process, however, is unlikely he said, citing public support for
peace.
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