Fighting between FARC dissidents and ELN leave at least nine dead

2023-09-05 00:51:04

At least nine people have deceased and five others have been injuredincluding an indigenous minor, in Clashes between the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) in the municipality of Puerto Rondón, in the Arauca region. The governor of said region, Wilinton Rodríguez, has confirmed the discovery of the bodies, which have not yet been identified, and has indicated that the authorities have rescued five guerrillas, including a 14-year-old indigenous girl who apparently had been recruited.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Colombia has confirmed that on Sunday it participated in an evacuation of several people wounded in combat in the rural area of ​​Arauca, in an “exclusively humanitarian operation” that has been “resulted” of its “bilateral and confidential dialogue with the armed actors”.

In the capital of Arauca, the Security Council was held this Monday, where the regional authorities met with the Colombian Army and Police “in order to take actions to protect human rights, after (the) confrontations between groups organized armed groups that commit crimes in this area”.

Hours before, the Government of Arauca had shown its “strong” condemnation and rejection of “the events that have been taking place in the municipality of Puerto Rondón, as a result of clashes between the ELN and FARC dissidents“. Likewise, it has requested the intervention of the Ministry of the Interior and the High Councilor of the regions, and has activated a humanitarian channel that allows the evacuation of the wounded. “The clashes have generated displacements of the civilian population and confinements, in view of which We request the activation of humanitarian mechanisms by the National Government and that both the High Commissioner for PEACE and the Human Rights Directorate of the Ministry take responsibility for our situation,” reads a statement.

Rodríguez has reiterated his appeal “to the actors in the conflict to exclude the civilian population from this confrontation”, while expressing his “solidarity with the families affected by this delicate humanitarian situation that is occurring”. “The ‘total peace’, for which the national and departmental governments are fighting, is achieved through dialogue and tolerance, but, above all, with respect for the integrity of our fellow citizens”, he remarked.