They denounce a new massacre in Arauca, at least two children were killed during the attack by an armed group

The authorities are investigating the facts. For now it is not known the reasons or who carried out the act

En los primeros 24 días del año, se han producido también en el país catorce enfrentamientos armados entre organizaciones criminales y las fuerzas de seguridad colombianas y siete entre grupos ilegales, seis masacres, y cinco asesinatos a excombatientes de las FARC. EFE/ Carlos Ortega/Archivo

A new massacre in less than two days occurred in the municipality of Tame, department of Arauca. According to local media Prensa Araucana, the incident occurred on April 17 in the evening hours and left four dead, including two minors, and two injured.

Preliminary information indicates that, from one moment to another, nine unknown persons who were driving along the road leading to the Las Nubes village started shooting at the vehicle in which the victims were riding. So far, the authorities have not been able to determine the reasons for the deadly attack.

“A moment ago the relatives arrived in Tame, they tell me that they were attacked inside the vehicle, which was armed. We have four people killed, two adults, two children. There are also two wounded. They tell me it's violent death, we haven't detailed what kind yet, but one of the people is seriously injured in Saravena. The other one here in Tame,” Tame's representative Juan Carlos Villate wrote to Blu Radio.

According to Caracol News, Army agents are currently verifying information and attending to the regrettable event and collecting the necessary evidence to be able to find the culprits of this massacre.

A similar event occurred in the village of La Bermeja, attached to the municipality of Balboa, in Cauca. The victims, whose identity has not been revealed, were found with multiple shots. So far it is only known that one of the violated persons is a woman of indigenous descent, probably a minor.

Preliminary information indicates that the events took place around 4:00 in the morning of this Sunday, when the four young men, who were mobilizing some in a van and others on motorcycles, were approached by armed men. The criminals forced the victims to get out of their vehicles and shot them. They subsequently burned the means of transport.

“First it was the attack on a van, which they later burned after killing one of the occupants, after that, and something that is not very clear, three people were killed with a firearm and their motorcycles also burned,” said peasants who live in the area to the Virtual Periódico portal.

The same community was the one who reported on what happened, because they found the bodies and vehicles incinerated on the road. They detailed that they were all killed with shots of grace and showed signs of violence.

Two weeks ago, Indepaz recorded that in the first quarter of 2022, 30 massacres occurred, which left 100 people killed. In other words, if compared with figures for 2021, there was an increase of four more massacres and 16 victims.

For its part, the Office of the United Nations for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that in the first two months of 2022, some 274,000 people were affected by violence in Colombia, an increase of 621% over that period in 2021. This would show that in recent years the conflict has intensified with the emergence of new armed groups.

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