Seven children killed in an air strike in Colombia
Seven children were killed in a controversial airstrike on a rebel group in southern Colombia, the country’s human rights ombudsman said.
The incident occurred as President Gustavo Petro’s administration stepped up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province.
Ombudsman Iris Marin said in her statement that the minors killed in the attack on the FARC-EMC rebel group were forcibly recruited and used as “human shields”.
Marin called on the Colombian government and rebel groups in the country to respect international humanitarian law.
The defender initially said six children were killed in the attack, but updated the death toll following a statement from the Colombian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
“No child or youth recruited should be affected by military operations,” Marin said. he said.
“Armed forces must take measures to protect children forced to participate in hostilities.”
Earlier this week, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez accused criminal groups of endangering children and told reporters that in his view “everyone involved in hostilities will lose protection without discrimination.”
Child deaths in military attacks in Colombia are a sensitive issue; A former defense minister resigned in 2019 after revelations that the government covered up the deaths of eight children in an airstrike in Caqueta province.
At least 19 fighters were killed in an attack in Guaviare on Tuesday, according to the Colombian military.
Petro said on Saturday that he decided to order the airstrike because the group of rebel fighters was advancing towards a position where they could ambush a smaller group of Colombian soldiers.
“The death of any person, especially the death of minors, is sad,” Petro wrote to X.
“I took risks to save the lives” of the soldiers.
Petro suspended airstrikes against criminal groups shortly after taking office three years ago to reduce the possibility of minors being killed.
The left-wing leader accused previous governments of committing “war crimes” when it emerged that minors had been killed in airstrikes against rebel groups.
But air strikes against Colombian rebels resumed last year as Petro’s administration tries to contain the spread of groups fighting to seize territory abandoned by the guerrilla group FARC, which made peace with the Colombian government in 2016.
Petro has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s attacks on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, which he describes as “extrajudicial killings.”
He argued Friday that his government’s airstrikes against rebel groups were different.
Petro wrote to X: “Those who fell under the bombardments of the Colombian forces have machine guns, explosives and have declared themselves members of an armed group.”
“They are trying to destroy government forces and civilians with lethal weapons.”
