Colombia: 249 peace signatories killed since 2016

Colombia: 249 peace signatories killed since 2016
A student graffitiing during a protest against the massacres, Bogota, Colombia, Dec. 18, 2020.

BOGOTA, Dec 29 (NNN-TELESUR) — The number of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) combatants who have been killed in Colombia climbed to 249, following the assassination of two of its members over the weekend.

The Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common (FARC) party on Sunday denounced the deaths of Manuel Alonso, who was supporting rural workers and Indigenous leaders after his demobilization in the Cauca department. 

It was also reported the assassination of Rosa Mendoza, who was killed in Montecristo municipality (Bolivar department) along with her family and her two-year-old daughter. 

According to the Institute for Peace and Development Studies (Indepaz), 61 FARC demobilized members have been murdered so far this year.

Antioquia, Cauca, and Nariño are the departments most affected by the murder of social activists, Indigenous leaders, and ex-combatants. Over 300 people were murdered in 90 massacres committed this year. 

President Ivan Duque’s administration has ruled out the occurrence of massacres in Colombia and pointed to drug trafficking as the main cause for what the authorities call “collective homicides.”.

“The horrible night must come to an end, we need guarantees for our political participation. Dreaming and building a more just country cannot cost us our lives,” FARC party noted. — NNN-TELESUR

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