Updated: At least 23 killed in armed clashes in Colombia’s Arauca, government says
Updated: 12.30pm (AEDT)Bogota, ColombiaReuters Twenty-three people have been reported killed so far in Colombia’s Arauca province amid fighting between illegal armed groups, Defense Minister Diego Molano told a news conference late on Monday. Fighting broke out over the weekend in Arauca – which sits on the border with Venezuela – as members of the National […]
Colombia blames armed groups for protest violence, death toll still unclear
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombia’s defence minister on Monday blamed illegal armed groups for looting and vandalism during five days of street protests but would not confirm how many demonstrators have died. The protests, which began last week, demanded the withdrawal of a controversial tax reform proposed by the government of President Ivan Duque, who said Sunday […]
UN raises concerns over killing of human rights defenders in Colombia
Thomson Reuters Foundation Dozens of human rights defenders in Colombia are being gunned down, including rising numbers of women, despite a peace accord ending half a century of civil war, the United Nations said on Friday, urging the government to punish those responsible. A peace deal between the government and the left-wing rebel Revolutionary Armed […]
World Council of Churches expresses concern over upsurge of violence in Colombia
The World Council of Churches has expressed concern over an upsurge in violence in Colombia, saying it can only “weaken the shaky foundations” on which the recent peace accord was built. The resumption of violence has followed the expiry of a ceasefire which held since October last year and the suspension of negotiations between the […]
With rebel ceasefire in tatters, fears of fresh displacement in Colombia, warns UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of Colombians risk being forced from their homes amid renewed violence after the expiry of a ceasefire between the country’s ELN rebel group and the government, the United Nations and aid groups warned on Monday. The National Liberation Army (ELN) leftist guerrilla group and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos […]