ZCZC
BFF-12
COLOMBIA-UNREST-VIOLENCE-UN
More than 13,000 flee violence in Colombia: UN report
BOGOTA, March 27, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – More than 13,000 civilians in Colombia
have had to flee clashes between armed groups and government forces this year
as violence once again flares in the restive country, according to a report
to the UN Security Council.
“The situation in the Pacific region is especially worrying,” UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres said in the report, which was obtained by AFP on
Friday. “Thousands of civilians are stuck in the crossfire between illegal
armed actors and law enforcement.”
Of the 13,422 people who have been displaced this year, 5,574 are minors,
the report said.
Colombia is currently experiencing the worst violence the country has seen
since the 2016 peace accord between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC) group ended a half-century civil war.
Some guerrilla fighters refused to join that peace process, and have
continued their struggle, while also mixing with drug-traffickers in lawless
areas of Colombia.
Dissident FARC rebels, leftist guerrillas, drug-trafficking groups and
right-wing paramilitaries are all battling for control of the lucrative
cocaine and illegal mining markets.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1156 hrs