More than 27,000 have fled their home in Colombia this year | Latin America News
The increase in migration comes amid threats, killings and violence between the armed forces, says a human rights activist.
More than 27,000 people have been evacuated from Colombia in the first year of 2021, as a civil rights activist in the country, as South America struggles with violence.
People are being forced to leave their homes amid threats, killings, forced military service by armed militants and militant forces in illegal areas, the Ombudsman said on Monday.
The move in the first quarter of 2021 jumped by 177 percent compared to the same period last year.
Colombia is rife with violence in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, with the United Nations declaring in February that the country would “continue to experience violence” by 2020.
“In various parts of Colombia, violence is on the rise and is affecting communities and security forces and non-governmental organizations and terrorist groups,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. reports.
The UN said it had written a number of reports of human rights abuses against human rights activists in the past year.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also stated in March that Colombia faced at least five conflicts and militias that affected the daily lives of Colombian people.
The group said at least 389 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the 2020 bombings, the highest number since 2016.
The Colombian government signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016 aimed at ending a conflict that killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions. But violence is on the rise.
Late March, a the government criticized FARC protesters – who rejected the 2016 peace deal – blew up a car bomb in downtown Corinto, about 60km (37 miles) south of Cali in western Colombia.
The attack left many injured, including several government officials.
At the same time, one of the most recognizable former FARC leaders urged the United States to help Colombia is establishing a peace treaty.
In a letter, Rodrigo Londono described the ongoing killings of former veterans and traditional leaders and called on the US Congress to “call on the Colombian government to make a final decision on the implementation of the Peace Agreement”.
He also called on the US to urge Bogota to “embark on a promising work to develop our country to achieve sustainable ideas to eradicate drug trafficking, rehabilitate the region and save lives”.
