Bogota, Colombia – Dozens of gunmen targeted Indian activists in
western Colombia, killing five and threatening several others, an Indian
leader said Sunday, blaming the violence on right-wing paramilitary
fighters.
The attack occurred late Saturday on an Indian reservation near Rio Sucio,
125 miles west of Bogota, said Armando Valbuena, director of the National
Indigenous Organization of Colombia.
He claimed paramilitary forces carried out the violence in an effort to gain
control of the region in Caldas province.
Police could not immediately confirm the killings.
Valbuena said about 45 fighters from the paramilitary United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia threatening to kill more activists.
Valbuena has criticized the government in the past for not doing enough to
protect the nation’s Indian communities, which are being increasingly
targeted by armed groups vying for power in a 37-year civil war.
Violence from the war claims an estimated 3,500 lives every year.
Also Sunday, suspected rebels from the leftist National Liberation Army, or
ELN, set up a roadblock in Caldas and kidnapped eight people. Soldiers freed
five of the hostages hours later, the army said.
The abductions follow an agreement Saturday between the government and the
ELN to resume peace talks. Negotiators were struggling to revive peace talks
with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.