AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Violence in Arauca even at Easter: four people killed, including two children

Wednesday, 20 April 2022 violence armed groups human rights local churches

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Arauca (Agenzia Fides) - "Every death afflicts us. But even more the death and injury of children, our children, who are completely innocent of this crazy wave of violence to which the region has been subjected, especially this year", said the Bishop of Arauca, Monsignor Jaime Cristóbal Abril González, in a video message in which he expressed his total rejection of the acts of violence that were recorded on Easter Sunday, April 17. In the rural area of Tame, Arauca, four people were killed, including two children aged 9 and 4. Armed persons opened fire on a vehicle in which there were nine people. The Bishop expressed his condolences and solidarity with the affected families and assured them of his prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased: "Dear families, your suffering is ours too". He then implored God for the speedy recovery of the injured, asking for "strength, serenity and hope, which are so needed at this time".
Monsignor Abril González asked the competent authorities to quickly clarify what happened and identify those responsible for this act of terrorism, while he asked the protagonists of the violence to respect international humanitarian law, excluding the civilian population from the conflict, reiterating the need to explore other avenues, including dialogue, to achieve "real and lasting solutions".
Concerned by the resumption of clashes between armed groups in Arauca, which have caused victims and suffering, especially among the civilian population, further aggravating the humanitarian and social crisis, representatives of the Catholic Church and the United Nations returned on March 30 in the area of the department of Arauca (see Fides, 4/1/2022). (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 20/4/2022)