Colombia: Bishop calls armed groups not to involve in their disputes the civilian population of Chocó

The bishop of Quibdó (Colombia), Mons. Winston Mosquera, called on the armed groups that act in the department of Chocó to “that do not involve more or affect the civilian population in their violence.”

The Prelate was pronounced following the new armed strike that the National Liberation Army (ELN) decreed in this department of the northwest of the country, whose territories dispute with the Gaitanista army of Colombia, also known as the Gulf clan.

This is the ninth armed unemployment convened in this region by the ELN in two years. The guerrillas said that this action would begin at zero hours on July 25 and last 48 hours. This measure forces the population to confine them in their homes.

According to the ELN, the measure is against a “collusion between paramilitarism, military and local leaders.” However, the governor of Chocó, Nubia Córdoba, He said in x That the guerrillas are reacting after a military operation that, together with the Prosecutor’s Office, seized material from this armed group.

In a statement issued yesterday, the bishop of Quibdó said that the armed strikes what they do is “the humanitarian, social and environmental crisis, for the armed confrontation and the territorial dispute between the ELN, the EGC and the other armed actors.”

In that sense, he pointed out that the Diocese of Quibdó states “his resounding rejection of any action of armed groups that implies confinement, displacement or any affectation to freedom of citizen locomotion, even more so in the case of the historically victim population of the armed conflict and in vulnerable conditions.”

Therefore, the prelate demanded that the ELN and the Cesar Gulf clan “violation and violent aggression against communities, it is urgent to stop this war strategy aimed at violating people’s rights.”

The bishop also addressed Gustavo Petro’s government and asked “to guarantee the security and peace permanently for the citizens of the department of Chocó, through the protection of citizenship, the implementation of the peace agreement and the neutralization of the actions of illegality.”

Mons. Winston Mosquera asked international organizations to monitor “the serious human rights situation against leaders, leaders, defenders, human rights defenders and in general civilian population that may be in a situation of risk within the framework of the armed strike decreed by the ELN.”

The prelate wrote that “in the context of the armed conflict suffered by the department of Chocó, talking with the truth implies a process of clarification of what happened, where we seek to know the causes, responsibilities and consequences of violence, as well as the experiences of the victims. This process is essential for the construction of territorial peace, reparation to the victims and the non -repetition of the conflict.”