Bogotá.- The Ombudsman’s Office of Colombia asked this Sunday to prevent an escalation of violence following the explosive attacks perpetrated the day before in several parts of the country, which left one police officer dead, one day after the inauguration of the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella as the new president.
“Faced with the start of a new Government, it is essential to strengthen from these first days a comprehensive state response that combines the necessary actions in terms of defense sector security, with comprehensive prevention actions and the protection of people and communities,” the Ombudsman’s Office expressed in a statement.
The entity noted that between Friday and Saturday there were “attacks, harassment, and incidents related to explosive devices” in the departments of Cauca, Nariño, Cesar, Antioquia, Tolima, Huila, Arauca, Caldas, Bolívar, Meta, and Guaviare.
The multiple explosive attacks
The most serious incident took place in San Roque, in the department of Cesar (northeast), where they attacked the local police station with explosives launched from drones, which caused the death of Sub-intendant Argemiro Rodelo Canchila, 43 years old, 18 of them in the Police.
Another attack destroyed a toll booth under construction on the Pan-American Highway, between the cities of Popayán (Cauca) and Cali (Valle del Cauca), where De la Espriella’s inauguration took place on Friday.
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“Although the circumstances and authorship of several of these events remain a matter of verification, there have been recorded in a very short period harassment and attacks with firearms, drones, and explosive devices, mainly against Public Force facilities, infrastructure, roads, and strategic corridors in these regions of the country,” the statement noted.
The Ombudsman’s Office stressed that several of these attacks have taken place “in municipal seats or in the vicinity of homes, commercial establishments, and roads used daily by the communities” and some have affected the civilian population.
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“We once again remind illegal armed groups that the civilian population must not be put at risk or turned into a stage for shows of force. In the conduct of hostilities, the rules of international humanitarian law must be respected, and particularly the obligations aimed at protecting those who do not participate in them,” the entity added.
For this reason, he/she called to “cease any conduct that affects the life, integrity, mobility, and other rights of the communities,” mainly “when means and methods of warfare are used whose effects can reach inhabited areas,” such as drones, which are increasingly used by illegal armed groups in the Colombian armed conflict.
