2023-07-13 05:35:36
This was announced by the Ómar Gómez Western War Front, which indicated that the armed actions will be suspended from zero hours on Thursday, July 13. The armed strike will cease in the territories of Sipí, San Juan, Cajón and other tributaries.
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The announcement was released through an audio by alias “Fabián”, one of the guerrilla leaders, who maintained that his interest is to protect the inhabitants of the San Juan region.
“We announce that as of 00:00 on July 13, 2023 we lift the indefinite armed strike in the region of San Juan, Picajón and all its tributaries. We reaffirm our purpose to protect the life of its inhabitants and the defense of the territory”, explained the guerrilla group.
Previously, the National Government demanded from the ELN the definitive suspension of the armed strike decreed in the department of Choco. As denounced by the office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the deaths, harassment and the burst of shots by this armed group continue despite the announcement of the cessation of military operations.
“On the occasion of the announcement by the ELN of the establishment of a temporary humanitarian corridor, a caravan of 20 boats with the help and attention of the ombudsmen of the region tried to reach Chambacú and Noanamá (…) Upon hearing the shots of a armed confrontation, the caravan had to stop and turn back without being able to complete the delivery of humanitarian aid that had been planned,” the agency stated.
The organization details the serious situation that the communities affected by its armed operations are suffering in the region of the Sipí and San Juan rivers, where “a boat from the Mayor’s Office of Istmina that transported the representatives of Istmina and Sipí, and aid for the communities was detained with a warning shot and requisitioned.”
Reports from the authorities have informed that this armed strike has affected approximately 9,000 people from 52 communities in the municipalities of Sipí, Nóvita, Istmina and Medio San Juan.
In turn, the Ombudsman’s Office questioned the work of government and state agencies, and urged that they focus on the department to address the social and humanitarian crisis.
“How long will a joint and effective work of all the institutions that allows mitigating what the inhabitants of Chocó experience go through? Although we value the efforts of the national and territorial entities and we recognize that the problems are of old data, it cannot be that the population of the department has to continue being victims of all kinds of violations of human rights,” the defender drew attention. Carlos Camargo.
The entity revealed that, in the last five years, several early warnings have been issued in 27 of the 31 municipalities of Chocó.
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