Colombian militant group accused of murdering 8 religious and social leaders

While Colombia can have signed a peace deal in 2016 with the notorious FARC guerrilla movement, terrible atrocities still occur. The latest is the invention of a mass grave wherein eight religious and social leaders were buried after being murdered in April.

The prosecutor’s office claims that the killings were conducted by Frente Armando Ríos, an offshoot of FARC. The six men and two women were allegedly called to a gathering by the group, who wanted to analyze rumours that a rival militia is perhaps establishing a cell within the local area.

Their bodies were found by Colombian security services within the Calamar area, where Frente Armando Ríos is thought to be lively.

Family members of the deceased attempted to contact Frente Armando Ríos. The group reportedly denied ever summoning the victims but later hinted that the members of the family should stop on the lookout for their family members and will “consider the case to be closed”.

FARC is a revolutionary communist organisation and has a history of restricting religious freedom in areas it controls. Religious leaders who ignore their demands have often been abducted or assassinated.

The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, condemned the murder of the eight people. He said on X, “These acts are a grave affront to the precise to life, religious freedom, and the spiritual and community work that so many individuals perform in regions historically ravaged by violence.

“As President of the Republic, I stand in solidarity with their families, their faith communities, and all those that feel this pain today. I urgently call on state institutions to redouble their efforts to guard those that lead through faith, look after others, and peace. It is the state’s duty to make sure their safety and to ensure that these crimes are neither repeated nor go unpunished.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which campaigns for religious freedom, said it appreciated the actions of the Colombian government in attending to the underside of the disappearances, but said they were concerned concerning the slowness of its response.

The group’s Director of Advocacy, Anna Lee Stangl, said, “We urge the federal government to pursue similar efforts to supply answers as to the whereabouts of countless others who’ve been forcibly disappeared by illegal armed or criminal groups over the course of the country’s decades-long internal conflict.

“We reiterate our alarm that conflict-related violence in lots of parts of Colombia has reached levels last seen many years ago.

“We call on the federal government to implement effective security measures for communities, and specifically those in leadership positions, including religious leaders, in areas where illegal armed and criminal groups are lively.

“We also demand that the leaders of illegal armed and criminal groups stop their targeting of civilians and have interaction with the federal government to determine a just and lasting peace.”