The Colombian border village of Tres Bocas has become a ghost town as residents flee to neighbouring Venezuela to escape a new wave of violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region that has killed at least 80 people and displaced thousands.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a state of emergency in the country, amid escalating violence between the rebel National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The situation escalated on January 16 in Catatumbo, a mountainous region in the north-east of the country, located along the border with Venezuela, where about 15% of Colombia’s coca crop is produced.
According to authorities, the ELN, which has 6,000 fighters, has been targeting civilians suspected of being collaborators with rival group FARC: fighters have been taking people out of their homes and shooting them in the streets. Since January 16, more than 100 people have been killed in attacks and shootings in northeastern Colombia.
According to UN calculations, about 18.3 thousand residents of Catatumbo have been forced to leave their homes. They are hiding in shelters, hotels and schools, where classes have been temporarily cancelled and rooms converted into shelters. The region has requested emergency humanitarian assistance. Richard Claro, mayor of the municipality of Tibu, in north-eastern Colombia, said:
“We see countless families who have lost children and, even sadder, children who have lost their parents. Children and elderly people crying as they leave their farms and crops. It’s just heartbreaking. We cannot even give the victims a decent burial as we are unable to get into these areas to pick up the bodies because of the ongoing violence.”
