Colombian Villagers Forced Out
Leftist rebels forced at least 1,000 Colombian villagers into boats bound for the jungle, turning their settlement into a near ghost town, the army said Wednesday. Authorities launched a search but have not found the residents.
Guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish acronym FARC, told the people of Puerto Alvira, in the central province of Meta, to leave Saturday, the army said.
One of the few people left in the town, Jaime Tellez, said the rebels had ordered locals to get out because an offensive by the armed forces or by far-right paramilitary outlaws was imminent.
Colombia’s top human rights official, ombudsman Eduardo Cifuentes, called the incident “a massive hostage-taking, almost without precedent in the country. It is a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”
The army arrived in the town Tuesday, and a civilian commission followed the trail of the townspeople into the jungle along the Guaviare River to try to determine their fate.
“The town is practically deserted,” said Gen. Carlos Saavedra, commander of the army’s 7th Brigade. “We could only speak to about five people.”
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