At least 24 people were killed in violent disputes between Farc dissidents and guerrillas from the ENational Liberation Army (ELN) in three municipalities of the department of Arauca, bordering Venezuela, local authorities confirmed this Monday.
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The wave of violence occurred this weekend in the towns of Tame, Fortul, Saravena and Arauquita.
“On Sunday, January 2, in the afternoon, we had the official report of 17 murdered people. However, at night they continued to appear and at this time we have 24 people already officially reported as murdered“Tame’s representative, Juan Carlos Villate, told ‘W Radio’.
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The official explained that those murders occurred in the first two days of the year and that, even, “surely the figure could rise to 50 during this Monday“.
Among the dead there are middle commanders from the FARC dissidents, others from the ELN and “sympathizers, militiamen or civilian population that has been accused of being a militant or political leader of an organization who were declared a military target“Villate explained.
The personero explained that the situation is due to a conflict between the ELN and the tenth front of the FARC dissidents, “who have openly declared war“.
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“It all started with ELN operations in the populated centers detaining people, some murdering them and the bodies have been appearing little by little“said the personero.
Regarding the situation in Arauca, the Ombudsman’s Office said that – according to information compiled by its regional office – in the “In the last hours there have been homicides, threats, illegal detentions, massive displacements and risk of forced displacement in border municipalities, specifically in Tame, Fortul, Saravena and Arauquita“.
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EFE
