Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office said that at least 14 people, including two minors, were killed in two incidents that involved illegal armed groups in the north of the country.
The Ombudsman’s Office said in a press statement that nine alleged members of the ACSN paramilitary group were killed in clashes with the security forces in Uribia, a municipality in the northern La Guajira province.
The ACSN confirmed the dead and added that other members were killed in clashes outside of the Caribbean port city Santa Marta.
Th ACSN controls significant drug trafficking routes between Santa Marta and the northern tip of La Guajira.
The Ombudsman’s Office additionally said that another five people were assassinated and an unknown number of people were injured in a massacre in Maicao, La Guajira’s second largest city.
According to local media, a group of armed men arrived at the Villa Mery neighborhood around 11:30AM and indiscriminately opened fire at locals who were gathered outside.
The attackers subsequently fled the scene in the same van that had delivered them there.
The two incidents, which left two minors dead, “urge us to demand comprehensive measures to protect and guarantee rights, including the prevention of the recruitment, use, and exploitation of children and adolescents,” said the Ombudsman’s Office.
