Colombian army denies pushing officers to hike rebel, criminal death toll
WORLD NEWS MAY 20, 2019 / 1:56 PM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia’s army on Monday denied putting pressure on high-ranking officers to sharply increase the number of rebels and gang members killed or captured in military operations across the Andean nation.
The denial followed a New York Times report over the weekend, which cited military sources as saying the armed forces leadership had ordered a doubling in the number of dead, captured or surrendered guerrillas and criminals, even though the policy could pose increased risks for civilians.
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The newspaper drew parallels between the policy and the so-called “false positives” scandal of the late 2000s, when some army units were found to have killed civilians and then listed them as guerrillas killed in combat to pad casualty numbers and earn rewards from superiors.
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Human rights groups have repeatedly accused military officials of collaborating with right-wing paramilitary groups and of looking the other way when those groups committed massacres, rapes and torture.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-rights/colombian-army-denies-pushing-officers-to-hike-rebel-criminal-death-toll-idUSKCN1SQ21V?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29&&rpc=401
LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142318546
