Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Quibdo (Agenzia Fides) - The frequent actions of armed groups against the population have created fear and anxiety among Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples who live in the department of Chocó, and are no longer able to lead a regular life and live, traumatized , in silence, avoiding even talk about their situation. In recent days there have been at least two other armed attacks carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (RAFC) in this area of the north-west, which lies on the border with the state of Panama. The first attack occurred on Sept. 18 in the coastal town of Lloro, Upper Atrato area, without causing victims; the second episode, the following day, happened in a neighborhood of Quibdo, the capital of the department of Chocó, and caused the death of a policeman and the wounding of another.
According to information gathered by Fides, when the conflict broke out in Lloro, local residents, mostly blacks, escaped from their homes, bolting doors and windows, invoking God’s protection. The parish house became a beehive of people, especially young people who, confused, ran back and forth. Shortly before, in the parish Miguel Angel Quiroga had been commemorated, of the Marianist religious, killed by paramilitaries thirteen years ago in this town. The Superintendent of the Police of Lloro, Raul Gutierrez told the press that some members of the RAFC's Front 34 had opened fire on the police station, firing from the opposite bank of the Atrato River. His first impression was that, with this action, the guerrillas "may have wanted to divert the attention, perhaps to move the transportation of drugs or other goods at a different point of the river".
Mauricio Salinas, spokesman for the diocese of Quibdo, who every morning conducts a radio program radio in the town of Lloro, told an agency that "the lack of reliable information has brought only anxiety and panic among the people", because none of the government’s authorities have confirmed or denied what happened. "The armed conflict began to hit Chocó in 1996 and 1997 - said the German priest Uli Kollwitz to the press, Head of Life Commission, Justice and Peace of the diocese, explaining the story of violence in the region -. At that time the paramilitaries arrived in crowds to take over the territory along the Atrato River, which provoked a reaction on behalf of the guerrillas, which strengthened their presence. Today there are officially no more paramilitaries, but their presence is hidden, so they do not go around with guns and uniforms, but people know them, so they have the same power to intimidate. The guerrillas is present in all areas of the tributaries of the Atrato River, it also has military control over the territory and puts pressure on many communities".
Since 1998, when the police station was opened in Lloro, there have been 39 attacks or violent actions by the guerrillas, who have killed 19 policemen, said the superintendent Gutierrez. In addition to the victims, more than other 800 cases have been registered by the diocese, of people who have been murdered or disappeared because are in the hands of armed groups from Lloro, legal and illegal. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 22/09/2011)
