Incident Summary:
02/20/2010: On Saturday night at 0430, in the second of three related attacks, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's (FARC) 6th Front and Jacobo Arenas Mobile Column attacked the town of Cajibio, Cauca, Colombia, and took an unknown number of indigenous civilians hostage. Police and military soldiers responded shortly after the attack at which point the FARC rebels then began throwing unknown explosives into urban areas, wounding one soldier and four civilians. The attacks, which also took place in the towns of Jambaló and Caldono, caused damage to an unspecified number of homes, a hospital, and an Air Force helicopter, although it is unclear in which attack the hospital and helicopter was damaged. No group claimed responsibility and the status of the hostages is unknown.
Overview
GTD ID:
201002200003
When:
2010-02-20
Country:
Colombia
Region:
South America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Cauca
City:
Cajibio
Location Details:
The attack took place in unspecified urban areas in the town of Cajibio.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Military |
Name of Entity |
Colombian Military |
Specific Description |
Military soldiers responding to the attack were also targeted. |
Nationality of Target |
Colombia |
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Cajibio Law Enforcement |
Specific Description |
Cajibio police responding to the attack were targeted. |
Nationality of Target |
Colombia |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
Indigenous civilians in the town of Cajibio |
Nationality of Target |
Colombia |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
Unknown |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Unknown |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Unknown Explosive Type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Weapon Details |
Unknown firearms and unknown explosives were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
This was one of three related attacks (cf. 201002200004 and 201002200005). The summary of this incident was based on articles originally written in Spanish. The available sources listed the injuries for these attacks cumulatively as 15, so these figures have been distributed evenly for these cases in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 5 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
5 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
National Counterterrorism Center, "Three Soldiers, Twelve Civilians Wounded, Many Others Held Hostage in Armed Attacks by Suspected FARC in Jambalo, Cauca, Colombia; Cajibio, Cauca, Colombia; and Caldono, Cauca, Colombia," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, July 1, 2010. |
Colombian Human Rights, "Attack Against Civilian Population," http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/bitacoras/bitac_423.asp (July 6, 2010). |
Caracol Radio, "FARC Creates Panic in Caldono," http://www.caracol.com.co (February 22, 2010). |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties