One hundred and seventy-nine people from a rural community in the Colombian department of Choco were displaced from their homes after being warned by a local paramilitary group of impending violence in the region, reported El Colombiano on Thursday.
Members of the Dipurdu de los Indios community, including 115 children, arrived in the municipality of Istmina, in the south of Choco, after fleeing their homes in surrounding countryside.
According to reports, members of the Colombian paramilitary group Aguilas Negras had warned members of the community of impending conflict between the illegally armed groups working in the area.
“The community says that an illegal group arrived and said that that they had to leave because they were going into combat and they did not want the community to get caught in the crossfire. We have already informed the appropriate services to address the emergency,” said the secretary for the government of Istmina, Jairo Enrique Renteria.
Renteria said that the displaced Colombians are received food and shelter, provided by authorities of the municipality.