The arrest warrant follows the testimony of Jorge Luis Salgado, a former paramilitary, who accuses the soldiers of murdering the three adults and three children, together with forces of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the country’s paramilitary group that’s now been demobilized.”The children were hiding under a bed. The girl was sympathetic and five or six years old. (…) We proposed the commanders to leave the kids in a neighbouring house, but they said the kids would pose a threat if theFARC guerrillas returned in the future. (…) “Cobra” took the girl by the hair and slid her neck with a machete” reads Salgado testimony.After the massacre, the decapitated and mutilated bodies were dumped in a shallow grave in a nearby jungle.All victims were members of a group that had declared themselves neutral in the armed conflict and previously had asked special protection.The population of the village from the beginning have told that the operation was carried out by both paramilitary forces and members of the 17th brigade of the Colombian National Army. It is the first time the villagers’ story is backed by a testimony made by one of the executioners.
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