The Franco-Colombian corporal of the French Foreign Legion who was kidnapped in early August in a region of Colombia controlled by guerrillas escaped from the hands of guerrillas holding him hostage in Colombia. He is “doing well” and remains under protection against possible “retaliations”, a military source told AFP on Monday September 7.
José Olger Melo Charry was taken hostage on August 6 by a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), now dissolved, while he was traveling on a road in the southwest of the country.
Also readPeace agreement in Colombia: 99 guerrillas lay down their weapons
He escaped on Thursday, September 3, and, after four days of walking, presented himself to the authorities in Policarpa, a town in the Andes, in the province of Nariño. He was taken to a hospital where he is receiving treatment, according to an army official.
Transported by helicopter to hospital
The man was authorized to stay in mainland France, but not to go to Colombia, according to the French Ministry of Defense.
The Colombian army still does not know the exact circumstances of his escape. “Thanks to his military training and his membership in the Foreign Legion, he survived,” said a source on condition of anonymity.
The soldier, a corporal in the Foreign Legion, was then transported by helicopter to the hospital in Pasto, capital of Nariño province. He remains there under the protection of Colombian security forces.
José Olger Melo Charry was traveling with a woman who was also taken hostage and released a few hours later.
On the ObserversColombia: recruiting on TikTok, the new strategy of armed groups
Thousands kidnapped for extortion purposes
According to Colombian authorities, the kidnappers never demanded a ransom.
Its capture was claimed by the Central Staff (EMC), the main faction of the Farc dissidence to have rejected the 2016 peace agreement.
In more than 60 years of conflict, armed groups in Colombia have carried out thousands of kidnappings for the purposes of extortion or political pressure.
The Foreign Legion is a fighting force of the French army made up of 9,000 soldiers of various nationalities, commanded mainly by French officers.
With AFP
