COLOMBIA-MINING-ILLEGAL-MILITARY-ENVIRONMENT

TO GO WITH AFP STORY on illegal mining in Colombia Aerial view of an illegal gold mine at Puinawai Nature Reserve, Guainia Department, taken on May 4, 2015 during Operation Anostomus, an offensive against illegal mining launched by the Colombian government in the jungles of the departments of Guainia and Vichada. Illegal mining activities take place mostly in areas of environmental conservation as moors, rivers and forests, and produce ecosystem pollution, loss of animals' habitats and displacement of native communities -- areas which are mostly controlled by armed groups, guerrillas and criminal gangs. In Colombia, one of the countries with the largest biodiversity in the world, minerals such as gold, coal, nickel and tungsten are exploited by illegal mining which uses chemical products such as mercury inappropriately, causing pollution in watersheds. AFP PHOTO / LUIS ACOSTA (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images)