In order to address the humanitarian emergency that arises in the municipality of Nóvita, located in the south of the department of Chocó, where 25 ethnic communities are confined by an announcement by the National Liberation Army (ELN) to ban mobility through this territory, the Ombudsman's Office will lead a mission humanitarian assistance to their attention.
The entity announced that it had a qualified team to lead this humanitarian mission that aims to serve threatened communities, six of which are indigenous peoples of the Middle and Upper Tamana, who are made up of about 4,000 people who are now confined by the intimidation of the armed group illegal.
“In recent days, from the Chocó Regional Office of the Ombudsman's Office, we have been taking steps with local and regional institutions to define the logistical details that will allow such humanitarian work to be carried out, complying with the necessary security conditions to ensure the attention of communities confined,” said the ombudsman, Carlos Camargo.
The human team that was sent from Regional Chocó will coordinate the actions together with the Personería de Novita, the Major Community Council, the Municipal Mayor's Office and the other authorities of this department of the Colombian Pacific, thereby organizing the logistics necessary to bring food and medicine to this riverside town, as well as and to restore displacement along the Tamaná River.
On the other hand, the ombudsman recalled that through Early Warning 027 August 2021, the entity had warned State entities and institutions about the risks caused by the presence and dispute between the ELN guerrilla and the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as the Gulf Clan, which are disputed territorial control of this corridor in the Pacific.
“We call on the ELN guerrillas and the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces (AGC) to respect the rights of communities in the territory and to allow the free movement of civilians and to cease their actions against the Novita community, in addition to respecting Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,” said the defender Camargo.
The alert issued by the entity showed that entry into the areas where the traditional practices of agriculture, fishing and hunting of these communities are being prevented, as well as being prohibited from transit on roads in this territory, and navigation from the municipal seat to the middle and upper sector of Tamaná was being prohibited. through the use of explosive ordnance, signs and threats, which impede access to the area.
Warning for confinement of more than three thousand people in Bojayá, Chocó
In the past few days, the same entity had warned about the confinement of communities in the municipality of Bojayá, one of the towns most affected by the armed conflict and which suffered one of the most reprehensible massacres in the country's history.
According to the Office of the Ombudsman, at least 3,700 people remain confined in that municipality of Chocó, with indigenous people being the main affected by the public order situation.
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