BOGOTÁ, Colombia – More than 80 people died in the northeast of the country over the weekend following the failure of the government’s efforts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.
Another 20 were injured in the violence that has forced thousands to flee as Colombian troops tried to evict people on Sunday, according to William Villamizar, the governor of North Santander, where most of the incidents took place.
Among the victims are community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who wanted to sign the peace agreement, according to a report released by the government’s ombudsman center late Saturday.
Officials say the attack took place in several towns in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, and at least three people who were part of the peace talks were kidnapped.
Thousands of people are fleeing the area, some hiding in the nearby green mountains or seeking help from government agencies.
“We were caught in the war,” said Juan Gutiérrez, who fled with his family to a temporary shelter in Tibú after they were forced to leave their animals and belongings behind. “We didn’t have time to take our things. … I hope the government remembers us. … We are helpless here.”
Colombian soldiers rescued a number of people on Sunday, including a family and their dog, whose owner held a pack of cold water to the animal’s chest to keep it cool while they were taken out by helicopter.
Defense Minister Iván Velásquez traveled to the northeastern city of Cúcuta on Sunday where he held several security meetings and urged armed groups to disperse.
“The important thing is to save lives and ensure the safety of communities,” he said. “We have deployed our troops throughout the region.”
Officials are also preparing to send 10 tons of food and hygiene supplies to about 5,000 people in the communities of Ocaña and Tibú, many of whom have fled the violence.
“Catatumbo needs help,” Villamizar said in a public address on Saturday. “Boys, girls, young people, young people, whole families come with nothing, pickup trucks, garbage trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can do, on foot, to avoid being victims of this conflict.”
The attack comes after Colombia suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, on Friday, the second time it has done so in less than a year.
The Colombian government demanded that the ELN stop all attacks and allow authorities to enter the region and provide humanitarian aid.
“Immigration is killing us here in the region,” said José Trinidad, municipal manager of the city of Convención, in the North Santander region. “We are afraid that this problem will get worse.”
Trinidad asked the rebel groups to sit down and work out a new agreement so that “we the citizens do not suffer from the consequences that we are currently facing.”
The ELN has clashed in Catatumbo with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a rebel group that disbanded after signing a 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government. The two are fighting for control of a border region with strategic coca plantations.
In a statement on Saturday, the ELN said it had warned former FARC members that if they “continue to attack the public … there is no other way out than armed confrontation.” The ELN has blamed former FARC rebels for several killings in the area, including the killing of a couple and their 9-month-old baby on January 15.
Army commander Gen. Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría said on Saturday that the authorities were strengthening the humanitarian corridor between Tibú and Cúcuta to pass those who were forced to flee their homes. He said that the special forces in the cities were also sent to the municipal houses “where there is great danger and fear.”
The ELN tried to negotiate a peace agreement with the administration of President Gustavo Petro five times, the negotiations failed after periods of violence. The ELN’s demands include being recognized as a revolutionary political organization, which critics say is dangerous.
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