The Institute for Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) from Colombia announced this Wednesday that between 2020 and the date a total of 830 people were murdered in 217 massacres in this country.
According to Indepaz, 381 deaths were documented in 2020 as a result of the deadly violence left behind by the 91 massacres that year.
In the case of 2021, the execution of 335 people was reported in 95 files of this type, and in 2022 so far, 31 massacres with 114 victims have been reported.
The real-time record of the massacres committed so far this year, compiled by the Indepaz Observatory for Human Rights and Conflicts, shows that most of these crimes took place in the departments of Antioquia (five incidents and 16 victims) and Putumayo (also with five and 31 victims).
They are followed by Norte de Santander (four and 13), Cauca (four and 14) and Valle del Cauca (three and ten).
This data on insecurity in the South American nation, which also faces killings of society leaders and former peace signatories, goes beyond a few hours after Colombian President Iván Duque appeared before the United Nations Security Council and said: “Colombia is a country that embraces the essential principles of peace.”
It is also released after the United Nations (UN) organization called on the Duque government to investigate the killing of 11 civilians by the National Army on March 28 in the village of Alto Remanso, in the municipality of Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo .
Hours ago, the representative of the UN Secretary-General in Colombia and head of the observation mission, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, called on the authorities to investigate what happened in this military operation.
According to experts and human rights organizations, the attack is reviving the phenomenon of “false positives” as the security forces portrayed these civilians as members of illegal armed groups, and the communities stressed that they were farmers.