Colombia’s Chief prosecutor said Monday his office is
investigating more than a thousand disappearances of people who are suspected to have been murdered by the army to make the war against illegal armed groups look more effective or to collect a bonus.
Chief Prosecutor Iguarán says investigations done in the past year indicate that the more than 1,000 cases are likely to be part of the growing scandal involving the army’s extrajudicial executions, El Espectador reported Monday.
The same newspaper Sunday revealed that the Prosecution is investigating 780 people, most linked to paramilitary groups, who are suspected of having recruited the young people who then ended up being murdered by the army.
So far the armed forces sacked three generals and 24 other members of the military in connection to the murders.
The sacked members of the armed forces were all operating in the north east of Colombia, but according to the Prosecution there have been similar cases in at least four other departments.
The United Nations have warned Colombia it would ask the International Criminal Court to investigate the practice if the country wasn’t able to do so satisfyingly.