As if we didn't know department: Army Suspected in Colombia Massacre

[Judi Lynn]

Army Suspected in Colombia Massacre
August 28, 2009
OneWorld UK, OneWorld US, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Survival International


.WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (OneWorld.net) - A woman who accused the Colombian Army of executing her husband was killed in her home Wednesday along with 10 others, including four children and three teenagers, according to human rights monitors in the region.

What's the Story?

Tulia García was murdered early Wednesday morning when armed men in camouflage broke into her home and began shooting.

The attack came three days after the killing of García's husband, Gonzalo Rodríguez. García reportedly said she saw armed men detain her husband on Sunday and later found his dead body on the side of a road, with his head riddled with bullets. Colombian officials had accused Rodríguez of being a member of the FARC rebel group and said they killed him while he was trying to escape.

But independent monitors think the mass killing -- just three days later -- of those who witnessed Rodríguez's abduction, casts serious aspersion on the government's actions and explanation.

The 10 people killed along with García on Wednesday morning were believed to be relatives and friends, including her two children, a 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.

"Initial reports suggest that members of the Army may have massacred these people, with the purpose of eliminating and intimidating witnesses of atrocities," said a spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit group that monitors and reports on atrocities against civilians worldwide.

The group called on the Colombian government to conduct a legitimate investigation "of this horrific crime," but noted the government's repeated failure to prevent attacks against civilians and adequately investigate reports of abuses, despite the alarms raised by human rights monitors on a regular basis in recent months and years.

Murder Victims All from Awa Indigenous Group

García, Rodríguez, and the other 10 people killed this week were all members of the Awa indigenous group. A group of Awa leaders has traveled to the site of the shooting to conduct their own investigation, reported Survival International, an organization that supports the rights of indigenous communities worldwide to live free from intimidation.

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