Paramilitary violence kills over forty in Nariño l Violencia Paramilitar en Nariño deja más de 40 muertos.

Over a fifteen day period, paramilitary violence has killed at least 40 people in the Southeastern department of Nariño.

5 August 2009, Peace Advisor for the Governor of Nariño, Xavier Hernandez, told the Spanish news agency Efe and the Colombian radio show La W that people from the communities of Policarpa and Cumbitara had informed him of the deaths and the desperate situation in which they are currently living. The authorities are unable to access the affected area and the population is unable to move freely and as such there is extremely limited access to food and services. Even as Hernandez reported a calming of the violence in the days prior to his interviews, the community is isolated and paralyzed for fear of further attacks. It is estimated that the wave of attacks is affecting at least 3,000 people in the northwest of the department.

The cordillera in northwest Nariño has become a zone of major importance for arms and drug trafficking, according to the Peace Advisor. A mountainous area close to the Pacific coast, illegally armed groups involved in the industry are fiercely battling for its control. Two paramilitary organizations, Los Rastrojos and Águilas Negras, have been engaged in particularly intense confrontations in the area.

Whilst official verification of the deaths is yet to be realized due to the inability of authorities to enter the affected area, what is flagrantly clear for Hernandez is that these paramilitary groups are imposing their own regime, with their own laws. As is so often the case, it is the civilian population who are suffering the consequences.

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Mas de 40 personas muertas es el saldo que deja una ola de violencia paramilitar en Nariño en las últimas dos semanas.

El pasado 5 de Agosto, el asesor de paz de la gobernación de Nariño, Xavier Hernandez, declaró a la agencia de noticias Efe y a la W Radio, que personas pertencientes a las comunidades de Policarpa y Cumbitara le habían informado sobre las muertes y sobre la angustiante situación en la que se encuentran. Las autoridades no han podido tener acceso a la zona, y a las comunidades se les ha restringido la movilidad, afectando la provisión de alimentos y servicios básicos. Aún cuando Hernández reportó un cese de la violencia en los días previos a la entrevista, las comunidades están aisladas y paralizadas por el miedo a que los ataques regresen. Se estima que 3000 personas de las comunidades al norte del departamento se han visto afectadas por ésta ola de violencia.

Según Hernández, la cordillera noroccidental de Nariño se ha convertido en una zona de gran importancia para el tráfico de armas y drogas, lo que ha genereado luchas entre diferentes grupos armados, entre los que se cuentan a Los Rastrojos y las águilas Negras, por el control del área.

Las muertes no han podido ser verificadas por las autoridades dada la imposibilidad de acceder a la zona.