Four indigenous Awa were murdered by anonymous armed attackers in Colombia’s southern department of Nariño whilst attending the wake of another tribe member who was killed previously, media reported Thursday.
The indians, members of Colombia’s protected Awa tribe, were attending the funeral of a 16 year old boy who was also murdered when a gang of men, armed and with their faces concealed by ski masks, burst onto the scene and shot four people, claimed Nariño’s Secretary of State, Fabio Trujillo in a report by news station W Radio.
According to reports, the 16 year old was the son of an alleged member of a local gang, the ‘Cockroaches’ who operated in the region supposedly with the permission of FARC guerrillas.
The four most recent murders occured very near to the site where on August 26, 12 Awa indians, including six minors, were massacred, allegedly by the ‘Cockroaches’ gang.
Among the victims of the massacre reported today was the grandfather of the 16 year old.
Authorities are investigating but as of yet no arrests have been made. Five alleged members of the ‘Cockroaches’ have been arrested in connection with the August 26 massacre.
In the departments of Nariño and Putumayo, over 15,000 Awa live across 21 shelters. The Awa are among the most endangered indigenous groups in the country as a result of being caught up in the Colombian Armed Conflict.
