The United Nations condemned the killing of four hostages by the FARC and the “dehumanization” of Colombia’s armed conflict, in a statement Sunday.
Christian Salazar, a representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, said, “These atrocious assassinations reflect a terrible lack of humanity and a total disregard for human life.”
“These irrational acts are not isolated or sporadic. They are war crimes which could be classified as crimes against humanity, and are the product of the progressive dehumanization of the internal armed conflict,” he added.
Four members of Colombia’s security forces, who had been held hostage by the FARC for more than 12 years, were executed by the guerrillas during a botched army rescue attempt on Friday.
Just one rebel was captured — a 23-year-old woman identified as Sandra Patricia Veloza, who is reported to have spent four years with the armed group. She appeared in court Monday in Florencia, Caqueta department, on charges of aggravated homicide, aggravated kidnapping, terrorism and conspiracy.
The bodies of the murdered hostages were brought back to Bogota in a military plane Sunday evening. They will be buried with official honors following post-mortem investgations.