April 12, 2023, 10:10 PM
April 12, 2023, 10:10 PM
Indigenous people of the Colombian municipality of Toribío (southwest) They released 17 soldiers who had been held since Wednesday morning as a protest against the failed attempt to capture a member from his community who was injured, reported the Ombudsman’s Office.
The entity held “the return of the 17 uniformed members of the National Army who remained with the indigenous community of the San Francisco reservation,” which is in Toribio.
The military “stated that they received good treatment,” added the entity that watches over human rights.
In the morning, the army denounced that 16 soldiers were “surrounded” by more than 700 people who prevented a man from being detained “required for the crime of aggravated homicide and manufacturing, carrying and illegal possession of firearms”.
The Suspect”He was injured while trying to escape. and is recovering in a hospital from “a cut on one of his legs,” the institution added in a statement.
On their side, the indigenous people alleged irregularities and mistreatment during the capture procedure that led to the conflict in that small town in the department of Cauca.
According to the community, the soldiers entered the home of the indigenous Germán Rivera and shot him, accusing him of belonging to an illegal armed group.
Despite the fact that his relatives claimed that Rivera was not the one they were looking for and showed the “identity card of the wounded community member” shot, the soldiers “proceed to attack him, tie him up and take him out of the house,” a bulletin details.
Videos posted on social media show a group of soldiers walking in a line in a rural area, guarded by the indigenous guard, an unarmed organization that defends the reservations with sticks.
The army announced that “will file the respective complaints for kidnapping and riot” against the community.
The indigenous peoples and peasants of Colombia usually retain members of the public force as a mechanism of pressure.
beginning of march a community protesting against an oil company in the southwest of the country detained almost 80 police officers for two days.
The mobilizations ended in clashes between the peasants and the public forces that left a protester and a policeman dead and several injured.
Colombia is experiencing a prolonged internal conflict that pits guerrillas, drug traffickers and state agents against each other. More than half a century of violence leaves nine million victims, most of them displaced.
