More than 6,000 Venezuelans displaced to Colombia because of conflict

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The NGO Fundaredes warned Wednesday that more than 6,000 Venezuelans had been displaced to Colombia fleeing the fighting that began last March 21 in the border state of Apure, between the Venezuelan Armed Forces and an irregular armed group, which activists identify as FARC dissidents.

“In Arauquita alone, there are more than 5,000 displaced Venezuelans. Some are in other places, but not in places of shelter. They have gone to the homes of friends and relatives,” said in a telephone conversation with Efe, the director of Fundaredes, Javier Tarazona.

According to Tarazona, the combats between the Venezuelan military and the irregulars are taking place in several localities of Apureña, where the Venezuelan Armed Forces “bombard” the positions of the irregulars.

“There are constant overflights, bombings, and detonations in these areas,” he stated.

The clashes between the Venezuelan Armed Forces and irregular groups in the state of Apure began 10 days ago and have left at least two soldiers dead, 6 “terrorists neutralized” and 27 other suspects captured, who were placed under the orders of a military court, according to the last official balance.

However, Fundaredes has denounced that last March 25, “five members of a family were murdered by presumed officers of the FAES”, an elite group of the Venezuelan Police whose dissolution has been requested by the UN due to multiple accusations of extrajudicial executions.

The Venezuelan opposition, grouped under the figure of leader Juan Guaidó -whom several countries recognize as interim president- has asked to investigate this fact and other alleged excesses of the military against the civilian population.

In this regard, former opposition deputy Delsa Solórzano said on Saturday that she sent a report to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, where she collects testimonies of alleged violations of fundamental rights during a military operation in El Ripial, where the lifeless bodies of these five people appeared.

Sourc: EFE