People displaced by violence in a town in the Catatumbo region, where rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) and former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are clashing, seek shelter at a soccer stadium in Cúcuta, Colombia, on Sunday. Arrived. . Fernando Vergara/AP Hide Caption
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Fernando Vergara/Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia – More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend as the government’s attempts to negotiate peace with the National Liberation Army failed, Colombian officials said.
William Villamizar, governor of northern Santander state, where most of the killings occurred, said another 20 people were injured in the violence, which forced thousands to flee Sunday as Colombian troops rushed to evacuate people.
A report released late Saturday by the government ombudsman agency said the victims included community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who were seeking to sign a peace agreement.
Officials said at least three people participating in peace negotiations were kidnapped in several towns in the Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from the area, some hiding in the nearby lush mountains or seeking help in government evacuation centres.
“We were caught in the crossfire,” said Juan Gutiérrez, who fled with his family to a temporary shelter in Tib, leaving behind their animals and belongings. “We didn’t have time to get things. … We hope the government remembers us. … We are powerless here.”
Colombian troops on Sunday rescued dozens of people, including a family and their dog, whose owner pressed a pack of cold water onto the animal’s chest to cool it down during a helicopter evacuation.
Defense Minister Iván Velázquez visited the northeastern town of Cúcuta on Sunday, holding several security meetings and urging armed groups to demobilize.
“Our priority is to save lives and ensure the safety of our communities,” he said. “We have deployed troops in all areas.”
Authorities also prepared to send 10 tons of food and hygiene kits to around 5,000 people in the Okanya and Tiv communities, the majority of whom had fled violence.
“Catatumbo needs help,” Villamizar said in a street address on Saturday. “Boys, girls, young people, teenagers and entire families are showing up on foot, in trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever means they can to avoid becoming victims of this conflict. ”
The attack comes after Colombia called off peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Friday, the second such attack in less than a year.
The Colombian government called on the ELN to cease all attacks and allow authorities to enter the area and provide humanitarian aid.
“Evacuations are killing us in this region,” said Jose Trinidad, an official in the town of Convención in the northern Santander region. “I’m worried that the crisis will get even worse.”
Trinidad called on the rebels to sit down and work out a new agreement so that “our civilians do not have to suffer the consequences that they are suffering now.”
In Catatumbo, the ELN is clashing with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group that was disbanded after signing a peace deal with the Colombian government in 2016. The two sides are fighting over control of a strategic border area containing coca leaf plantations.
The ELN said in a statement on Saturday that it had warned former FARC members that “if they continue to attack the population… there will be no other way out than armed conflict.” The ELN blames former FARC rebels for several murders in the region, including the January 15 killing of a couple and a nine-month-old infant.
Army commander Gen. Luis Emilio Cardoso Santamaria said Saturday that authorities are strengthening the humanitarian corridor between Tibou and Cúcuta for the safe movement of people forced to flee their homes. . He said special urban units were also deployed in municipal capitals, where “there is risk and great fear”.
The ELN attempted five times to negotiate peace with the government of President Gustavo Petro, but negotiations broke down after violence. The ELN’s demands include recognition as a political opposition organization, which critics say comes with risks.
