Around 50 families have fled into the jungles of the west Colombian Choco department to escape fighting between rival narco-trafficking paramilitary groups, according to regional Ombudsman Victor Raul Mosquera.
The humanitarian crisis is unfolding near the municipality of Medio Baudo in the department’s south, where narco-trafficking gangs “Los Rastrojos” and “Aguila Negras” are battling, reports EFE.
An estimated 235 people have fled into the jungle around the village.
“The armed group Los Rastrojos came to the community of Berrecuy, gathered the people, separated men from women, beat some of them, and [then] the people fled the village into the mountains,” said Mosquera.
Villagers also said that two men and a woman have been missing since last week, when the Los Rastrojos gang entered the Aguila Negra-controlled area.
Local people have been confined to their villages for several months by narco-trafficking gangs.