Colombian president says at least 27 killed in Colombia-Ecuador border bombings

BOGOTA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 27 people were killed in bombings along the Colombia-Ecuador border, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday.

"The bombings along the Colombia-Ecuador border do not seem to have been carried out by armed groups, which do not have aircraft, nor by Colombia's security forces. I did not give that order," Petro wrote on X.

He added that there were no credible accounts of the bombings and that the bombs are on the ground near families, "many of whom have chosen to peacefully replace coca leaf crops with legal crops."

In response, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa denied carrying out bombings in the Colombian territory.

"President Petro, your statements are false; we are acting within our territory, not yours," Noboa wrote in a post on X, stressing that operations against what he termed "narco-terrorism" are being conducted solely within Ecuador.