Nearly 1,400 indigenous people from the Awá El Sande reservation—in the Colombian municipalities of Samaniego and Santacruz (Nariño)—have been displaced due to fighting between FARC dissidents, and the Frente Comuneros del Sur, of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
The situation was highlighted by the Ombudsman’s Office in an Early Warning issued in July 2023. In it, the agency indicated that these confrontations were imminent and that there would be a “hardening of pressures and stigmatization of the population and its leadership by both illegal groups.”
The community reported on social media that there are injured people as a result of the fighting, which constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law protecting civilians from the actions of armed groups.
Both the FARC dissidents and the ELN are in dialogue with the Colombian government. In fact, the guerrilla is in a current ceasefire with the military forces. However, this cessation does not apply to disputes between armed groups, which affects the population caught in the middle of these confrontations.
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