An international delegation will accompany 290 Colombians, displaced by violence and forced to flee into the jungle in the western department of Choco, as they return to their homes.
The Colombian ombudsman, and representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the Medio Baudo municipality ombudsman will form the delegation assembled to protect the displaced, which includes 121 children and four pregnant women.
A humanitarian crisis began to unfold near the municipality of Medio Baudo in south Choco last week, due to an armed battled between rival narco-trafficking gangs “Los Rastrojos” and “Aguila Negras.” Locals began to flee from the rural Berrecuy region to Pie de Pepe in the Medio Baudo municipality.
Community spokesmen reported that two senior citizens had disappeared during the battle. The 75-year-old and 80-year-old later appeared but showed signs of physical abuse at the hands of one of the illegal armed groups.
Ombudsman Volmar Perez has called on the authorities to improve security conditions for the displaced Afro-Colombians. Community leaders are demanding a security council meeting be called to evaluate the situation.