At Least 8 Farmers Killed by Armed Group in Columbia, 120 Forced to Flee

By teleSUR

19 July 20

This massacre forced at least 120 people to leave their communities at the municipality of Cucuta.

olombia's Peasant Association of Catatumbo (ASCAMCAT) Saturday denounced the murder of at least eight of its members by the narco-paramilitary group "Los Rastrojos".

The massacre occurred in the village of Totumito Carboneras, Catatumbo, in the department of Norte de Santande.

"We urge the Regional Ombudsman's Office of Cúcuta and the municipal authorities of Tibú to initiate an investigation into this violent act," the organization said in a statement.

This massacre has deepened the existing humanitarian crisis in the country and has forced at least 120 people from the municipality of Cucuta to leave their communities.

The displaced people fear a possible incursion by armed groups against the community.

"Ivan Duque's government must guarantee the life and safety of our communities and our stay in the territory," the organization added.

Colombia's House of Representatives legislator for the Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common (FARC) party Sergio Marin also rejected the massacre.

The peace agreement signed in 2016 is very weak now. Is this the Colombia they wanted us to come back to?" Marin tweeted.