By Carlos Ramirez
TIBU, Colombia (Reuters) – Residents of Colombia’s troubled Catatumbo region, near the eastern border with Venezuela, are weighing whether to return home after attacks by a rebel group displaced at least 50,000 people over several weeks.
The government has accused rebels from the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) of targeting former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and civilian community leaders in a series of attacks in Catatumbo, a hub for drug trafficking and other crimes.
The escalation of violence prompted President Gustavo Petro to suspend peace negotiations with the ELN, curtailing a key part of his plan to end a six-decade internal conflict. The ELN has denied attacking civilians.
“We were at home with my family. At around 8:40, 8:30, bang! Holy virgin, there were bullets everywhere,” Luz Nelly Jaimes said in the city of Tibu. She and her family have been living in a shelter for 20 days, after fleeing their farm in the same municipality.
“What do we fear in returning home? A clash between the two groups, fighting during the night and us in the middle of the bullets,” she said. “There’s a lot of fear.”
Jaimes and her family, who left with only what they could carry, do not know if their home is still standing, she said, and are considering moving away for good.
Some 53,000 people have been displaced, the defense ministry has said, with more than 6,000 living in shelters. Fifty-two people have died according to the ministry, though local authorities have given a total of 80.
Security forces have ramped up operations.
“There are 11 municipalities we have prioritized,” said Lieutenant Colonel Amaury Aguilera, sub commander of Colombia’s national police in Norte de Santander province, told journalists on Monday.
Some are still hoping for negotiations.
“The people and leaders have to sit down with the ELN to listen to the proposals they have and for them to listen to the proposals that we also have for them as a community,” said Jaime Botero, who heads a local community council.
(Reporting by Carlos Ramirez; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Alison Williams)
