According to international human rights law, the intentional use of deadly weapons may only occur if:
is absolutely unavoidable and serves to protect life. (Photo: PL)
Bogotá, April 13 (RHC) The United Nations Office for Human Rights in Colombia on Wednesday held the Colombian army responsible for the deaths of 11 civilians as a result of an operation in the Putumayo Department.
According to the agency’s report, the military used firearms during the March 28 operation in the town of Alto Remanso, Puerto Leguízamo, where between 30 and 50 local residents, including minors and women, were staying.
After the actions, the above deaths were reported, including a pregnant woman and a minor, and five wounded, which the military tried to count as false positives, according to survivors and (civilians whose deaths are reported as casualties in combat). press reports. .
“Under international human rights law, the deliberate use of deadly weapons may only take place when it is absolutely unavoidable and serves the purpose of protecting life,” the United Nations report said.
The international organization recommended that the competent authorities take disciplinary and criminal measures to prosecute and punish those responsible for what is happening in this southern city.
She also called on the Colombian Public Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a full and independent investigation to ensure victims’ rights to truth, justice and redress.
Finally, he called for protection and redress for the community and for the lives and integrity of witnesses and journalists who denounced the operation as a massacre.
Defense Minister Diego Molano told a press conference that it was a joint operation by the army and prosecutors to eliminate members of the so-called dissidents linked to drug trafficking and other crimes and to arrest one of their leaders, Carlos Emilio Loaiza Quinonez. pseudonym Bruno.
However, the operation failed and its planning, as well as the work of the military leadership of the Andean Amazonian country, were called into question.
Molano defended the work of the uniforms, who adhered to national and international protocols, saying it was “a legitimate operation because it was planned with intelligence information for more than five months.”
For his part, the commander of the army, General Eduardo Zapateiro, assured that on previous occasions the deaths of civilians, including pregnant women and minors, had been reported as a result of clashes with illegal armed groups.
The Alto Remanso operation is being analyzed by the Peace Commission of Colombia’s Senate, a chamber of Congress (parliament) that could also request a scrutiny debate over the Defense Ministry. (Source:PL)