RIO DE JANEIRO, April 27 (Bernama-dpa) - At least 19 civilians have been killed in a bomb attack in southwestern Colombia about a month before the presidential election, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing authorities on Sunday.
"This vile and unjustifiable act has plunged families into deep mourning," said Governor Octavio Guzmán of the Cauca province, where Cajibio, the site of Saturday's attack, is located.
Local media reported that an explosive cylinder was detonated on a busy road. Images shared by the governor on X showed extensive damage to a minibus and several other vehicles.
More than 48 people were seriously injured, Guzmán wrote, including five minors.
The governor described the incident as a "tragedy." He warned of a "terrorist escalation" and called for decisive action by the government.
Three days of official mourning were ordered in Cauca. Several specialist teams were working to identify the victims, the National Institute of Legal Medicine said.
El Tiempo newspaper reported, citing eyewitnesses, that armed men had previously stopped and blocked vehicles on the road.
A survivor, describing the explosion to broadcaster Noticias Caracol, said the blast wave threw him several metres.
Another affected person told El Tiempo: "I felt like time stood still, but everything was over in an instant." He said his vehicle was lifted by the force of the blast.
President Gustavo Petro called the perpetrators "terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers" and blamed dissidents of the former FARC guerrilla group that rejected the 2016 peace deal.
Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez also attributed the attack to such groups. "We will not back down: we will step up operations until we have neutralised them," he wrote on X.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
