Colombia’s Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said Tuesday that 34 army soldiers were seized by fighters from the dissident FARC faction known as the Central General Staff (EMC) while operating near El Retorno in the southern province of Guaviare, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The abduction followed a firefight on Sunday in which troops killed at least 11 guerrillas, including a commander identified as “Dumar,” an aide to EMC leader Iván Mordisco, one of the country’s most-wanted warlords. Sánchez said the soldiers were surrounded and disarmed by individuals in civilian clothing acting under guerrilla orders. The Defense Ministry called the kidnapping a “grave violation of human rights” and is working with the United Nations Verification Mission and the national Ombudsman’s Office to secure the captives’ release. Authorities offered a reward of up to 20 million pesos (about US$4,900) for information leading to those responsible. The incident is the latest setback to President Gustavo Petro’s pledge of “total peace” with remaining armed groups. EMC fighters have been blamed for a string of recent attacks, including an explosives assault on an air-force base in Cali last week that killed six civilians, underscoring the group’s continued reach nine years after the 2016 peace accord.