A shocking incident has come to light in the Guaviyare province of South Columbia, where 34 soldiers were abducted by villagers. These villagers are actually acting at the behest of a rebel group. According to the Government of Columbia, the soldiers have been held hostage near the village of L Retorno since Sunday (24 August 2025).

The incident occurred after the encounter in which 10 rebels of Revolutionary Ord Forces of Columbia (FRC) were killed. The villagers are now demanding the body of a slain rebel in lieu of soldiers, which is kept in the morgue in the provincial capital.

Government’s response and reward announced
Columbia Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a press conference on Tuesday (26 August 2025) that the step is completely illegal and is going to disrupt the ongoing military campaign. He assured that the government will use all capabilities for safe release of soldiers. Sanchez also announced that those who informed about the rebels involved in the kidnapping would be given a reward of $ 5000. Along with this, search operation is being conducted in the area so that the soldiers can be rescued as soon as possible.

FARC and peace agreement background
Colombia’s name has been in the news for decades due to civil war and rebel violence. The 2016 peace agreement was reached between the Colombia government and the FRC rebels, which raised the hope that the country would come out of violence. Despite the agreement, some dissatisfied rebel groups are still active and are creating instability in rural areas. This region has been a stronghold of rebels for a long time and armed activities continue here even today.

Efforts for safe release of soldiers
The government has described the safe release of soldiers as the highest priority. The army and police have laid siege to the area and efforts are being made to resolve the situation peacefully through talks with the villagers. However, the atmosphere of tension is still intact and security agencies feared that rebel groups may take advantage of this incident and spread more violence in the area.

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Three Indians Rescured in Iran: The dream of going abroad takes such a turn many times, which no one would have imagined. Something similar happened with three youths of Punjab, who was sent to Iran by a travel agency in Australia. But as soon as he reached Tehran, he went missing and the demand for ransom increased the concern of the family. This incident intensified diplomatic movement between India and Iran.

Three Indian citizens who went missing last month in Iran’s capital Tehran have been safely rescued by the Irani police after a successful campaign. The Iranian embassy in India has confirmed this and said that this action was taken by the Tehran police. These three youths are residents of Punjab, named Jaspal Singh, Husanpreet Singh and Amritpal Singh, who reached Iran on May 1 and went missing the same day.

Iran was sent by luring jobs in Australia
According to Iranian media reports, the three youths were sent to Iran by a local travel agency on the pretext of attractive jobs in Australia. According to the Iranian news agency Meher and Tasnim, the police campaigned to get rid of the hostages in the Vermin area of ​​southern Tehran and released the three Indians safely.

Family was threatened with ransom
The families of the three Indians had reported their disappearance to the Indian Embassy. Family members also told that they had demanded a ransom of one crore rupees from unknown people and threatened calls came from Pakistani numbers. This made the matter more serious.

Indian Embassy Activation
The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi informed on social media that the department of Iran’s Foreign Ministry was closely monitoring the entire incident and was coordinating with judicial officials. The Indian Embassy also provided every update to the family from time to time.

Warning to Indians
Both the Iranian embassy and the Government of India have warned Indian citizens not to trust unauthorized agents or middlemen for traveling abroad. The Government of India has earlier issued counseling for citizens going to Iran, which has been advised to use safe travel, to stay in contact with the embassy and use legitimate means.