Ombudsman’s Office calls on guerrillas to cease violence and allow humanitarian aid in Catatumbo, Colombia

Bogotá.- Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office asked this Monday the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla and a dissident group of the FARC to “immediately cease” armed clashes between them and allow humanitarian corridors to assist the population of the Catatumbo region, affected by violence. More than 250 people from Catatumbo —a region belonging to the  department of Norte de Santander (northeast)— abandoned their homes and about 6,000 are at risk of confinement and displacement due to armed clashes between both illegal armed groups since last week in a rural area of Tibú. The Ombudsman’s Office asked «the illegal armed groups, in particular the 33rd Front of the dissidents and the ELN, to immediately cease armed confrontations, adopt measures to protect the civilian population, respect IHL and avoid affecting communities and civilians in the Catatumbo». The entity also requested the armed groups to “allow the activation of humanitarian corridors that result in actions in favor of the people affected by the hostilities”.

Mass Displacement in Catatumbo

The region has been experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis since January 16 due to the war declared by the ELN against the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents, motivated by territorial control and illicit economies. This dispute has caused the death of about a hundred people this year and the forced displacement of at least 78,000 peasants, many of whom have not been able to return to their lands because the violence persists. The Catatumbo, made up of the municipalities of Ábrego, Convención, El Carmen, El Tarra, Hacarí, La Playa, San Calixto, Sardinata, Teorama and Tibú, is a region that, despite being rich in natural resources, has high poverty rates and low levels of development.

The need for urgent humanitarian assistance

Currently, the region continues to face a serious humanitarian crisis, with the municipalities of Tibú and El Tarra being the most affected, the Ombudsman’s Office assured today, recalling that last October it issued an Early Warning about the risks in that region. “The above is due to the intensification of the armed confrontation between the ELN and the dissident factions of the extinct FARC (Front 33 and Magdalena Medio Bloc), added to the consolidation of territorial control exercised by the ELN,” added the entity. The Ombudsman urged the municipalities of Cúcuta (departmental capital) and Tibú to deploy and strengthen the care route to guarantee humanitarian assistance to those affected. “A plan must be strengthened to ensure the attention of other massive events of displaced people towards Cúcuta and the urban area of Tibú,” the organization pointed out. Finally, the Ombudsman urged to guarantee an effective and timely response from the Victims Unit, taking into account that the territorial entities “do not currently have the capacity to respond to the magnitude of the humanitarian emergency”.