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\u2019s 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 \u201chuman shields,\u201d urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
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 \u201closes protection.\u201d The military reported that at least 19 rebel fighters, including the minors, were killed in Tuesday\u2019s strike.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cregrettable,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seven Minors Killed in Colombian Airstrike Targeting Rebel Group …………….\u00a0\u00a0 Seven children were killed in an airstrike on a FARC-EMC rebel camp in southern Colombia earlier this week, Colombia\u2019s 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 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[10420],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombia"],"yoast_head":"\n