BOGOTA, Colombia – Fresh deadly inter-communal violence has sparked a major security deployment in southwestern Colombia, after a long-running territorial dispute between two Indigenous groups erupted into open conflict that left multiple people dead and dozens more injured.
On Thursday, violent clashes broke out in a rural zone of Cauca department’s Silvia municipality, pitting the Misak and Nasa Indigenous communities against one another. Both groups have laid overlapping claims to the same parcel of land, a source of simmering tension that has persisted for months. By Friday morning, official preliminary counts put the death toll at seven people, with more than 110 others wounded – most hit by gunfire. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez cautioned that the number of fatalities and casualties could climb in the coming hours as rescue teams reach isolated areas of the conflict zone.
In response to the violence, Colombian national security forces launched a large-scale deployment to the region on Friday. The national army announced via social media that more than 500 infantry soldiers, backed by air support, have entered the Silvia area to restore public safety for local residents and prevent further escalation of the conflict. The deployment aims to separate the rival groups and create a secure environment for dialogue to resume.
Tensions between the two communities first began to rise in April of this year. Colombia’s state-run National Land Agency has been involved in the dispute since that time, taking part in formal mediation sessions and technical working groups designed to resolve ambiguity over the official territorial boundaries between the two Indigenous groups. In the wake of Thursday’s violence, the agency repeated its call for both communities to set down weapons and return to the negotiating table to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue rather than armed confrontation.
The violence drew swift international reaction: the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Colombia mission released a statement Thursday calling for an immediate end to hostilities and urging national authorities to launch a full investigation into the violence, holding all those responsible for deaths and injuries legally accountable.
The region where the clashes occurred already faces significant security challenges, with multiple illegal armed factions active across Cauca department. Among these active groups are dissident units of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that refused to disarm under the terms of the landmark 2016 national peace agreement with the Colombian government. These armed groups often exacerbate local tensions over land and resources to extend their own control over territory in remote rural areas.