Leaders of an indigenous Wayuu community in the northern Colombian municipality of Riohacha are calling for human rights abuses committed by police against the community in January to be investigated, reports El Informador on Friday.
The leader of the Wayuu community, Luis Uriana, spoke to the Riohacha district court authorities with the aim of getting retribution for abuses suffered by the families at the hands of police units.
According to Uriana, armed police entered the community’s Jarijin Amana settlement, located on the northern coast of the country, on January 18 of this year, using their weapons against the civilians and burning down houses in order to evict the community from the location.
In his statement the Wayuu leader also claimed that representatives of the region’s Mayor’s Office had arrived to inspect the site, but that the community had received no subsequent assistance from the authorities.
He told the court that the displaced families have continued to live in the settlement without shelter or any access to resources.