(News) About 20 dead in Colombia in violent armed clashes between the FARC and the ELN in the border area with Venezuela

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The total number of deaths in the fighting has not yet been confirmed and armed actions have been reported both in the Colombian department of Arauca and in border areas within Venezuelan territory.

About twenty people have died as a result of clashes this Sunday between FARC dissidents and members of the ELN in the Colombian department of Arauca, bordering Venezuela.

According to information from the newspaper El Espectador, violent acts were registered in at least four municipalities in the region. Preliminary data indicate that four people have lost their lives in a hamlet on the banks of the Arauca River in the municipality of Saravena and another two in a town in Arauquita. In the municipalities of Fortul and Tame there is talk of a total of 10 murders.

Meanwhile, Caracol Radio points out that the total number of deaths in the fighting has not yet been confirmed, but estimates that it may be between 20 and 22 people. It also details that armed actions have been reported both in Colombian territory and in border areas within Venezuela.

The mayor of the municipality of Arauquita, Etelivar Torres, emphatically rejected the attacks of the last hours and stressed that they have generated "stupor, fear and anxiety" among the po[CENSORED]tion. He also called on the national government, international human rights organizations and the Church to seek alternatives for "dialogue and resolution."

Meanwhile, the municipal representative of Tame, Juan Carlos Villate Camargo, addressed in a statement to the ELN, the FARC and the organized armed groups (GAO) to "respect the life of the civilian po[CENSORED]tion" and highlighted the humanitarian crisis that you live in rural areas. "We urgently require the creation of safe humanitarian corridors, so that the civilian po[CENSORED]tion can leave their territories, as well as the provision of decent shelters to serve more than 2,000 people who have expressed their willingness to leave the territory to protect their lives and that of their families ", emphasized Villate Camargo.
"The public force is requested to be willing to protect the life of the civilian po[CENSORED]tion that today is affected by the confrontation between the two armed organizations," the Fortul Municipal Attorney said in a letter.
The Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia of the Organization of American States (MAPP / OEA) also expressed its rejection of the tragedy and reiterated the need for illegal armed groups to respect International Humanitarian Law and invite them to "leave the civilian po[CENSORED]tion out of the conflict."

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