The FARC run a camp in the north of Colombia where female recruits are forced to undergo abortion, a former guerrilla said Saturday.
The “abortion camp” is located on a mountain in the Magdalena medio region and has been used for more than 100 abortions, Sara Morales, who deserted the FARC and is currently taking part in a government reintegration program, told Caracol Radio.
According to the former guerrilla, all minors, except those who are pregnant of guerrilla commanders, are forced to abort pregnancies. The aborted fetuses are thrown in a hole in the ground, the 21-year old Morales said.
According to the deserted guerrilla, she was forced to join the guerrillas when she was eleven years old, and became pregnant for the the first time two years later after being raped.
Morales said she had been able to avoid being sent to the camp and had two children while in the jungle. The former guerrilla is currently expecting her third child.
Both the Colombian government and international human rights organizations have repeatedly denounced forced recruitment of minors by the FARC, which have been fighting the Colombian state since 1964.