The Colombian Army announced on Thursday that a Colombian-born French soldier serving in the French Foreign Legion was kidnapped at the beginning of August in an area controlled by armed groups.
According to a Colombian Army report seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), soldier José Holger Melo Chary was kidnapped on August 6 while traveling along a road in the department of Nariño, in southwestern Colombia.
Dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are suspected of being behind the kidnapping. The group was dissolved following the 2016 peace agreement with the government, but some factions rejected the deal and continued their armed activities. The report said the rebels kidnapped Melo Chary after discovering that he belonged to the French Foreign Legion.
José Holger Melo Chary, who has served as a corporal in the French Army for four years, was on leave in his native Colombia, Colonel Mauricio Osorio told Colombian radio station Blu Radio.
Kidnappings for Ransom
The armed group believed to be behind the kidnapping is reportedly led by a figure known as Iván Mordisco, considered one of Colombia's most wanted armed-group leaders.
Armed groups operating in Colombia, particularly those involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining, resort to kidnappings to obtain money or exert pressure on the authorities.
France 24 / AFP
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