ConflictBarometer_2015

THE AMERICAS
incident an ''act of defense'' and stated that the unilateral
ceasefire had been upheld. Subsequently, Santos ordered
the air force to resume airstrikes. On April 18, aerial bombardments
on a FARC explosives production site in Vista
Hermosa, Meta, left at least two FARC members dead. On May
21, air force, army, and the police conducted a joint operation
in Guapí, Cauca, with aerial bombardments followed by a
ground attack, killing 27 FARC members. Due to the combats,
more than 350 civilians were displaced. On May 23, at least
eight FARC members were killed in another joint operation
in Segovia, Antioquia. Two days later, five FARC members,
including the leader of the 18th Front Alfredo Alarcón alias
Román Ruiz, were killed in another airstrike in Riosucio,
Chocó.
After the airstrikes in Guapí, the FARC suspended the unilateral
ceasefire. In the following weeks, the group conducted
various attacks against state forces. Among the regions hardest
hit during the resumption of FARC attacks was Tumaco,
Nariño. Within few weeks, the FARC killed one policeman and
injured at least ten in various attacks on police stations and
military patrols. On June 12, approx. 2,500 people marched
in Tumaco to protest against the violence. On June 22, the
FARC attacked an oil pipeline near Tumaco, spilling more
than 410,000 gallons of oil into the Mira river, thereby causing
significant environmental damage and leaving 160,000
people without water.
The FARC targeted the infrastructure in other parts of the
country as well. For example, on June 10, the FARC blew up
an energy tower in Caquetá, leaving the entire department
and half a million people without power. In Norte de Santander,
an attack on the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline on
June 16 left 16,000 people without water and caused the
displacement of 20 families.
In the beginning of June, combats between the FARC and the
military caused the displacement of about 400 civilians in
López de Micay, Cauca. On June 26, 430 indigenous people
were displaced due to ongoing combats and the hazard of
anti-personnel mines in Urrao, Antioquia.
On July 20, the FARC implemented a new unilateral ceasefire,
to which Santos responded by ordering the military to
suspend aerial bombings against the FARC once again. In the
remainder of the year, the number of violent encounters was
sharply reduced. On October 28, during combats in Cartagena
del Chiará, Caquetá, four FARC members were killed
and another one injured. On November 25, FARC members
abducted a soldier in San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá. He
was released on December 9. cb, kgr
COLOMBIA (INDIGENOUS GROUPS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2005
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
indigenous groups vs. government
resources
The violent crisis over resources between several indigenous
groups, including the Nasa and Embera Chami communities,
and the government continued.
Violence mostly concentrated in the Cauca department,
where thousands of indigenous activists had been occupying
several haciendas in the municipalities of Corinto and Miranda
since 12/14/14 under the leadership of the Regional
Indigenous Council of the Cauca (CRIC). They demanded
20,000 acres of what they considered their ancestral land
from the government as reparation for massacres committed
against Nasa communities between 1991 and 2001.
The Ministry of Agriculture offered 3,000 acres of land and
a payment of COP 2,000 million for productive agricultural
projects during a negotiation on February 18. However, the
indigenous representatives rejected the proposal.
In the following week, clashes between indigenous activists
and the Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron (ESMAD) erupted
in Cauca. On February 24, in Mondomo, a group of protesters
blocked the Panamerican Highway. Two days later, activists
attempted to destroy a bridge on the road between Corinto
and Miranda. In both encounters, protesters, armed with
staves, machetes, and stones, clashed with ESMAD officers
who employed tear gas and a water cannon. At least 60
were injured in total. In spite of the introduction of a temporary
truce, negotiated by the Ombudsman's Office and
OHCHR representative Todd Howland on February 28, violent
encounters resumed in March, with violence extending
to Santander de Quilichao and Caloto.
On April 10, during a violent clash in Corinto, ESMAD fatally
injured an indigenous protester. The largest confrontation
occurred between May 21 and 23, when around 1,000 ES-
MAD officers, reinforced by the military, attempted to evict
3,000 activists from the occupied haciendas. Some sources
reported that ESMAD employed two armored vehicles and
three helicopters, while activists used IEDs, machetes, and
rocks. At least five people were injured in total. Sporadic confrontations
occurred throughout the second half of the year.
For instance, on October 13, indigenous activists blocked the
road to Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, clashing with ESMAD
officers, who used tear gas to disperse the protest and detained
two people.
Indigenous activists also held peaceful demonstrations
throughout the year. On May 14, around 3,000 protesters
marched from Mandibá to Santander de Quilichao, in order
to demonstrate against the violence in Cauca. The CRIC also
held a protest march between November 22 and 27 from
Cauca to the capital Bogotá, in defense of their Special Indigenous
Jurisdiction, gathering around 2,000 supporters.
After an indigenous was found shot dead in Puracé, Cauca,
on October 19, members of the Cauca Indigenous Guard
retained at least 15 soldiers and handed them over to the
Ombudsman's Office. The military stated that troops had
been responding to gunfire in the area. osv
COLOMBIA (INTER-CARTEL VIOLENCE,
NEO-PARAMILITARY GROUPS, LEFT-WING
MILITANTS)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2013
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Los Urabeños vs. Los Rastrojos vs.
Libertadores del Vichada vs. Bloque
Meta vs. FIAC vs. La Empresa vs. ELN
vs. FARC
subnational predominance, re-
sources
The limited war over subnational predominance and resources
between several neo-paramilitary organizations,
drug cartels, the Army of National Liberation (ELN), and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continued.
According to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for Organized
Crime, with its nearly 3,000 members, Los Urabeños, also
called Clan Úsuga or Autodefensas Gaitanistas, surpassed in
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