Seven Minors Killed in Colombian Airstrike Targeting Rebel Group

Seven Minors Killed in Colombian Airstrike Targeting Rebel Group
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Seven children were killed in an airstrike on a FARC-EMC rebel camp in southern Colombia earlier this week, Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said Saturday, Arab News. Iris Marin said the minors had been forcibly recruited by the armed group in Guaviare province and were being used as “human shields,” urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

Marin revised the death toll from six to seven after receiving updated information from the Forensic Medicine institute. She stressed that forcibly recruited children must be protected during military operations. Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez accused criminal groups of deliberately placing minors in combat zones, saying that anyone who participates in hostilities “loses protection.” The military reported that at least 19 rebel fighters, including the minors, were killed in Tuesday’s strike.

President Gustavo Petro said he ordered the operation because the rebel column was approaching a position where it could ambush a smaller unit of soldiers. He called the deaths “regrettable,” especially those of minors, but said he acted to prevent further casualties. The Petro administration suspended airstrikes early in his term to avoid harming children but resumed them last year amid growing rebel activity in territories once controlled by the demobilized FARC.