The War climbing in northern Colombia It keeps about 80,000 people trapped in crossfire in the Catatumbo region, where clashes between the ELN guerrillas and dissidents of the extinct Farc, warned this Friday the Norwegian council for refugees (NRC, in English).
The non -governmental organization indicated in A statement that the affected communities “face serious threats and urgent humanitarian needs.”
The NRC estimates that from January 16 to date, “the amazing number of people forcedly displaced” exceeds the total mobilization throughout the country during the year 2024, which shows the seriousness of the situation.
“We had not seen a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude in Colombia in almost 30 years. The recent statement of the government of an ‘internal shock’ state makes it clear: this growing crisis requires additional international solidarity, ”said Giovanni Rizzo, director for Colombia of the NRC.
The organization called to the authorities to prioritize the protection of the affected civilian population and guarantee access to humanitarian aid to refuge sites.
Rizzo said that the South American country “cannot accept this situation as new normality” and that the protection of the civilian population must be integral throughout the Catatumbo region.
Drug and violence confluence
The official figures counted in the first weeks of climbing about 36,000 displaced, with an average of 700 people per day. To date the figure exceeds 52,000 people who have had to leave their homes due to violence.
The director for Colombia of the NRC called the government of President Gustavo Petro to “prioritize” the safety of the inhabitants of that border area with Venezuela.
According to the Oenegé Human Rights Watch (HRW) “the lack of full and effective control by the government” for years, has allowed the continuity of violence and abuses against the civilian population.
The most prominent actors in the conflict in that area are the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) faced for seven years. HRW sees other groups of dissidents that make up armed cells in this convulsive region.
Humanitarian organizations agree that the civilian population is still trapped in an environment where numerous abuses such as murders, disappearances, sexual violence against women, childhood recruitment and forced displacement of the population are committed, which have been exacerbated in the last 30 days.
The emergency of the catatumbo was recognized by the Ombudsman of Colombia, which warned of seven of the 32 departments of the country could register displacements, which could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. The NRC urged “acting immediately.”
“Any additional escalation would trigger immense suffering, destroy communities and extinguish the hopes of a better future,” said director Rizzo.
The Government Plan
The Colombian government announced at the beginning of February a plan to “protect the lands of displaced communities” and allow them to return to Catatumbo to the peasants through the Plan of the National Land Agency (ANT).
The armed groups dispute the lands that occupied the disappeared Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) that agreed peace with the government in 2016. Bogotá seeks to legalize farms for peasants or as wild shelters.
He Internal shock decree Signed by President Gustavo Petro on January 24, it covers 16 municipalities of the northern department of Santander, including the 11 towns of the Catatumbo, and is valid for 90 days under the argument that “The ELN has scaled unpredictably to a magnitude that overflows the ordinary capacity of the State.”
The administration of Gustavo Petro also assured in the official publication that “the Government will have the strictly necessary powers to conjure the causes of disturbance and prevent the extension of its effects.”
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