At least 39 people have been killed in the recent spate of unrest and the country has seen 46 massacres so far this year
A wave of massacres in which dozens of people have been killed across Colombia has prompted fears that the South American nation remains unable to turn the page on its decades-long civil war.
In the latest incident, the bodies of three young men were found late on Tuesday near a road outside Ocaña, a city near the country’s eastern border with Venezuela.
Continue reading...Three social leaders were killed last week after quarantine measures were introduced
Death squads in Colombia are taking advantage of coronavirus lockdowns to murder rural activists, local NGOs have warned.
Related: 'Staggering number' of human rights activists killed in Colombia, UN reports
Continue reading...Operation aims to route out armed groups in conflict-ridden Cauca province and hunt down gunmen responsible for massacre
Colombia’s government has launched a military offensive to hunt down the gunmen responsible for the massacre of five indigenous leaders in the south-western province of Cauca.
The president, Iván Duque, travelled to the region on Wednesday along with his defence and interior ministers to condemn the massacre and oversee operations to root out armed groups that plague the conflict-ridden Cauca province.
Continue reading...Three groups are fighting over drug routes and coca plantations as 40,000 have fled their homes, says Human Rights Watch
Illegal armed groups have forced about 40,000 people to flee their homes as they fight for control of drug trafficking routes in Colombia’s Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The 64-page report highlights the significant security challenges that Colombia still faces after the government signed a 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group. That deal and a weak state presence has left a void in Catatumbo and other remote areas that has been filled by smaller armed groups, which are unleashing a new wave of drug-fueled violence.
Continue reading...A peace deal with Farc guerrillas was meant to end decades of conflict but in Catatumbo violence is worse than ever
Camilo Pérez lost two brothers to Colombia’s long war. One was murdered by state-aligned militias, who falsely accused him of collaborating with leftwing guerrillas. The other was riddled with bullets outside his home; Camilo found the body, but never discovered who was responsible.
“The war hit us hard here, it killed our communities, extorted people and forced us from our homes,” said Pérez, who asked to use a pseudonym after receiving death threats.
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