BOGOTA, Jan 22 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The violence shaking the Catatumbo region, in the northeast of Colombia, forced some 20,000 people to leave their homes and seek refuge in other cities in the country and even in Venezuela.
According to statements by the Chief of Staff of Operations of the National Army, Brigadier General Erick Rodríguez, as of Tuesday afternoon, some 19,800 people were in shelters or in places provided by the mayors and the Governorate of Norte de Santander. Rodríguez added that the Army helped evacuate 320 people by air, many of them social leaders and peace signatories residing in the territory in conflict.
Due to the clashes that began Thursday last week between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and a residual group of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces-People’s Army known as Structure 33, the civilian population was forced to move mainly to the municipal capitals of Cúcuta, Ocaña, and Tibú.
To alleviate the basic needs of displaced families, the Unit for Victims of Colombia sent 28 tons of aid with food kits, toiletries, mats, sheets, shoes, clothing, and blankets.
Ombudsman Irín Marín reported that the removal of the bodies of the victims has not yet been possible. She revealed that the information provided by the communities gives an estimate between 80 and 90 people dead.
The National Army was reinforced by more than 400 men in the urban and rural areas of the region, according to the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, who assured that since the beginning of the crisis, the Public Force has worked to protect the confined population and has intensified its presence in the municipal capitals.
Given the deterioration of the situation in Catatumbo, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared a state of internal unrest and economic emergency for the region, that is used in cases of serious disturbance of public order that imminently threatens institutional stability. He also suspended the Government’s negotiations with the National Liberation Army.
During the time that the state of emergency lasts, the Government will have the necessary powers to ward off the causes of the disturbance and prevent the extension of its effects. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
