Colombia protests: UN 'deeply alarmed' by bloodshed in Cali
Published 37 minutes ago
Demonstrators clash with members of the security forces during a protest against what they say was police brutality exerted in recent protests against President Ivan Duque"s government"s tax reform in Cali, Colombia May 3, 2021.
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
Demonstrators took to the streets to protest against tax reforms, which were later cancelled
The United Nations' human rights office has accused Colombia's security forces of using excessive force against protesters.
The UN said it was particularly shocked by events in Cali on Monday, where it said police had fired on protesters.
It said that fatalities had been reported but it not yet been able to verify how many.
On Monday, Colombia's ombudsman said at least 19 people had died during a week of unrest over proposed tax reforms.
Deadly clashes
The ombudsman's office had at first put the number of those killed since the protests started at 17, but later revised that number upwards to 19. But that was before the fresh clashes which happened overnight in Cali, Colombia's third largest city.
Marta Hurtado, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the UN had received reports of human rights defenders being harassed and threatened as well as protesters being injured and even killed in the city.
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