Bogotá (EFE).- At least 11 of the 48 bodies found in an area of the jungle department of Guaviare in Colombia (center-south), where there were clashes last week between two dissident groups of the former FARC guerrilla, were minors, forensic authorities confirmed this Tuesday.
“The identified victims correspond to 39 males and nine females, among whom are 11 minors,” indicated the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in a statement, in which it detailed that there are five bodies that have not been identified.
The Ombudsman, Iris Marín, pointed out that “11 minors died in a combat that looks like a massacre”.
“Colombians killing Colombians, sacrificing children to whom we deny their right to a good future,” added the official.
Violence in the department of Guaviare
The clashes took place last week between the dissidents of the Central General Staff (EMC), led by Néstor Gregorio Vera, alias Iván Mordisco, Colombia’s most wanted man, and those of the General Staff of Blocks and Fronts (EMBF), led by Alexander Díaz Mendoza, alias Calarcá, who are engaged in a fierce dispute for territorial control in that area.
In the department of Guaviare, located on the border between the Orinoquía and the Amazon regions, armed groups such as the FARC guerrillas have historically operated, and following their demobilization in 2016, dissidents of the peace process occupied the area and continued to exercise territorial control through illicit activities such as drug trafficking and illegal mining.
In the same area of Guaviare, FARC dissidents also had a confrontation in January of this year that left 26 dead.
