Colombian Civilians Killed by Air Force Bombing
ANDREW SELSKY, Associated Press | 23.02.2002 02:30
Sergio Delgado cries over the dead body of his wife who was brought to San Vicente del Caguan with two other bodies on the back of a truck, Friday, Feb. 22, 2002. Locals say that at least three people were killed Thursday during bombings in El Ruby, a few hours away from San Vicente. (AP Photo/Scott Dalton)
Colombian Civilians Killed by Air Force Bombing
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia (AP) - Family members and volunteers tried desperately Friday to evacuate civilians wounded in what appeared to be an accidental air force bombing of a remote jungle hamlet in southern Colombia that killed three people, including two children.
Witnesses said a father and his 2-year-old son were killed in the bombing Thursday of La Ye. A half-dozen civilians were wounded — some critically — during the government's assault on the rebel stronghold, they said. A teen-age girl died of her injuries overnight.
The bombing of La Ye underscores the plight of this South American country, a land with scant government presence in vast rural areas that are being fought over by several warring sides. The attack came after the government cut peace talks with rebels and started operations to retake the rebel area that had been ceded to them in a pace gesture.
The government called off talks after the rebels hijacked a plane and kidnapped a prominent senator.
In Bogota, Armed Forces chief Gen. Fernando Tapias said the reports were being investigated — but warned they could also be rebel propaganda.
"Don't forget that we are in a situation where they are trying to misinform and where there are guerrillas dressed as civilians, guerrillas mixed in with the civilian population," Tapias said.
Civilians have been victimized by all sides in the war. On Wednesday, the rebels blew up a bridge in western Colombia, sending an ambulance off the precipice in the darkness. Three civilians were killed, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.
For the dozen families who live in La Ye, which is surrounded by virgin jungle and pasture, the disaster came literally out of the blue Thursday.
"It happened around 11:30 in the morning," said one man who reported witnessing the attack and made it to San Vicente del Caguan, the region's main town, on a motorbike. "Two planes came in low and dropped eight bombs. One hit a tree over a house. It killed a man and his son."
The witness, who said he did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal by Colombian security forces, identified the dead man as Saul Quezada, a farmer. Quezada's son was decapitated by the explosion, he said.
The injured were taken to the nearby village of El Rubi, but there was not enough medicine, blood or plasma, and little could be done. First aid workers called for help by two-way radio.
Fifteen-year-old Keni Lozada, whose legs were mangled in the bombing, died of her injuries overnight, said Alan Almeida, who owns a ranch near El Rubi. Almeida was trying to organize a rescue from San Vicente del Caguan, a four-hour drive over rough roads from El Rubi.
On Friday, Almeida pleaded with officers to evacuate the wounded civilians.
"They said it's not their mission to do that," Almeida muttered in disgust after meeting with officers at the entrance to an army base which troops, flown in by Black Hawk helicopters, reoccupied early Friday.
Ana Lucia Toquita, Keni's sister-in-law, burst into tears. Keni's father, a farmer wearing a black cowboy hat, stood grimly next to her.
"No one is doing anything," snapped Carmen Rosa Verdugo, a nun who was also trying to spur a rescue. "They're dying, and no one is doing anything."
The group then drove over to San Vicente's hospital, where they were told an evacuation by ambulance was out of the question because it was too dangerous.
Keni's dad was despondent. "I want to cry, but if I do that now, it won't accomplish anything."
The International Committee of the Red Cross then agreed to accompany the hospital ambulance to pick up the dead and wounded. A Red Cross jeep and the ambulance returned to San Vicente in the evening, delivering the five wounded to the hospital. The dead came aboard a pickup truck, accompanied by Keni's boyfriend, who wept over her shrouded corpse.
As the pickup drove through town toward the cemetery, residents followed, their anger growing. "Why are they killing us," some shouted. We are not guerrillas!"
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Witnesses said a father and his 2-year-old son were killed in the bombing Thursday of La Ye. A half-dozen civilians were wounded — some critically — during the government's assault on the rebel stronghold, they said. A teen-age girl died of her injuries overnight.
The bombing of La Ye underscores the plight of this South American country, a land with scant government presence in vast rural areas that are being fought over by several warring sides. The attack came after the government cut peace talks with rebels and started operations to retake the rebel area that had been ceded to them in a pace gesture.
The government called off talks after the rebels hijacked a plane and kidnapped a prominent senator.
In Bogota, Armed Forces chief Gen. Fernando Tapias said the reports were being investigated — but warned they could also be rebel propaganda.
"Don't forget that we are in a situation where they are trying to misinform and where there are guerrillas dressed as civilians, guerrillas mixed in with the civilian population," Tapias said.
Civilians have been victimized by all sides in the war. On Wednesday, the rebels blew up a bridge in western Colombia, sending an ambulance off the precipice in the darkness. Three civilians were killed, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.
For the dozen families who live in La Ye, which is surrounded by virgin jungle and pasture, the disaster came literally out of the blue Thursday.
"It happened around 11:30 in the morning," said one man who reported witnessing the attack and made it to San Vicente del Caguan, the region's main town, on a motorbike. "Two planes came in low and dropped eight bombs. One hit a tree over a house. It killed a man and his son."
The witness, who said he did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal by Colombian security forces, identified the dead man as Saul Quezada, a farmer. Quezada's son was decapitated by the explosion, he said.
The injured were taken to the nearby village of El Rubi, but there was not enough medicine, blood or plasma, and little could be done. First aid workers called for help by two-way radio.
Fifteen-year-old Keni Lozada, whose legs were mangled in the bombing, died of her injuries overnight, said Alan Almeida, who owns a ranch near El Rubi. Almeida was trying to organize a rescue from San Vicente del Caguan, a four-hour drive over rough roads from El Rubi.
On Friday, Almeida pleaded with officers to evacuate the wounded civilians.
"They said it's not their mission to do that," Almeida muttered in disgust after meeting with officers at the entrance to an army base which troops, flown in by Black Hawk helicopters, reoccupied early Friday.
Ana Lucia Toquita, Keni's sister-in-law, burst into tears. Keni's father, a farmer wearing a black cowboy hat, stood grimly next to her.
"No one is doing anything," snapped Carmen Rosa Verdugo, a nun who was also trying to spur a rescue. "They're dying, and no one is doing anything."
The group then drove over to San Vicente's hospital, where they were told an evacuation by ambulance was out of the question because it was too dangerous.
Keni's dad was despondent. "I want to cry, but if I do that now, it won't accomplish anything."
The International Committee of the Red Cross then agreed to accompany the hospital ambulance to pick up the dead and wounded. A Red Cross jeep and the ambulance returned to San Vicente in the evening, delivering the five wounded to the hospital. The dead came aboard a pickup truck, accompanied by Keni's boyfriend, who wept over her shrouded corpse.
As the pickup drove through town toward the cemetery, residents followed, their anger growing. "Why are they killing us," some shouted. We are not guerrillas!"
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
ANDREW SELSKY, Associated Press
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Comments
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It doesn't matter if you're a guerilla or not
23.02.2002 13:14
This tragic report airs the tired old myth that the war in Colombia is "against the guerillas". The death toll of unionists, teachers, health workers, human rights defenders, community leaders, lawyers and activists murdered by State forces and their death squads indicate clearly that it is a war against anyone challenging the grossly unequal status quo. Don't forget that FARC tried engaging in politics through the ballot box and saw hundreds of its candidates and activists murdered by the state and right wing death squads. All political dissent -armed or otherwise- has been criminalised and the penalties are extreme.
The report is also curious in that it allows the Army the chance to rebut the claim of civilian casualties yet then attributes the destruction of a bridge and death of civilians to "rebels" (which ones?) without giving them the opportunity for denial. Even more curious is the ommission of details - where was the bridge? what was the source of the report?
Expect to see more of this pseudo-reporting (and more civilian deaths and displacement) now the Colombian state -fully armed, trained and encouraged by the US- has rejected peace talks, escalated the violence and attempts to crush all dissent.
And to the right-wing chorus who will no doubt chant "but FARC kill non-combatants too" (which, deplorably, is quite true) I suggest a quick visit to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and The Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA) websites, where substantial documentation attests to the far greater crimes committed by State/paramilitary forces, with full support from the US.
Ron F