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Of the 409 minors the Ombudsman's Office identified as having been recruited, about 300 were detected in Cauca, a troubled part of Colombia where coca is grown to make cocaine, that has become a frequent site of military operations.

Other hotspots for recruitment were Putumayo and Cauca Valley, where the conditions of violence are similar.

There were 12 attacks in the Cauca region and seven in the Valle del Cauca region, the ministry said.

In July last year, Jesús Cometa was shot at as he was driving through the Cauca Valley in southwest Colombia.

The Cauca Valley is home to the country's sugar industry, and he is a local representative of Sintrainagro, Colombia's largest agricultural trade union.