For several days now, massive displacements have been reported in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the department of Magdalena, this, due to constant clashes between armed groups seeking to expand their territorial control, these alerts have been communicated by local agencies to the supervisory bodies, however, attention has been paid to was inappropriate even on the part of senior military commanders.
The clashes are being led by men from the Gulf Clan and Los Pachenca, since since April 15 they began to open fire in the vicinity of the La Secreta village. Initially, the displacement of about 300 peasants was reported, as both the Gulf Clan and the Conquistadora Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra, have ventured into the search for road-taking and good territorial position.
The concern arises from the lack of attention of the national authorities, which are led by the National Army, since it is configured as the first force of action in the area. The mayor of Ciénaga, Luis Alberto Tete Samper, explained to W Radio that they communicated with both the brigade and with Commander Zapateiro himself, who received the communication, but did not report any action.
According to Tete Samper, there is growing concern about the possibility that this conflict will coalesce and generate greater problems. Faced with this, he said: “The responsibility in this area is the total responsibility of the National Army, here we have a high mountain battalion; that is the concern and the unknown that we are all doing, because we already have it we had announced to the commander of the high mountain battalion, even General Zapateiro made him see that situation, everything when these armed groups were entering, the commander of the Brigade was also informed.”
Although the Office of the Ombudsman is requesting a Security Council, the mayor of the municipality asserted that one had already been held in which authorities and important deputy ministers of the National Government attended, in addition, he explained that he had already known about the armed incursion for several days thanks to the information provided by the inhabitants of the rural area, however, the picture remains the same.
The local president noted that because the authorities were not diligent in a timely manner, several families are suffering the effects of the conflict and he does not rule out that the numbers continue to rise in recent days, regarding the issue he explained: “Apparently they did not pay the necessary attention and we are suffering the consequences, we are in the coliseum where more than 500 people are being registered; there are 560 that we have housed in hotels, families have left their belongings in the rural area, their crops and their animals, there will be more displaced because these groups are irrigated throughout the districts of the Sierra Nevada”.
Defender Carlos Camargo, expressed his concern about the events taking place in this area of the country, and also warned of the need to hold an Extraordinary Security Council, in order to implement a control plan in the area, Camargo said: “From the Office of the Ombudsman, we request the convening of a committee territorial extraordinary transitional justice system in Ciénaga, Magdalena, to assess the security situation following the forced displacement of more than 300 persons; belonging to families in the rural area due to clashes between illegal armed groups”.
In addition, the national official pointed out that it is necessary to implement a humanitarian corridor for the care of families, since he argued that affected families must be assisted with shelter, food and other supplements to guarantee their vital minimums, since within this context the security of citizens who are is confined.
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