Armed Groups Attacking Protesters in Colombia

Colombian social organizations and citizens have denounced that armed groups have attacked participants in protests against the Government. They demand an end to police brutality and measures to improve living conditions.

In several parts of the country, there have been reports of intimidation of demonstrators by armed men allegedly opposed to vandalism, and in some, they have even been shot at.

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"Right now there are expressions of violence that completely aggravate the situation because we don't know who are the ones threatening, who are persecuting, who are shooting and who are killing," analyst Jairo Libreros, professor at the School of Government of the Externado University of Colombia, told EFE.

The most recent attack occurred on Wednesday in Pereira, capital of the department of Risaralda, in the Eje Cafetero, where three young people were seriously wounded by unknown assailants who shot them from a vehicle.

The most delicate case is that of Lucas Villa, a university student of Sports Sciences who was shot eight times and is in critical condition in a hospital in Pereira.

The other two victims of the attack were another student and an informal vendor.

The victims were peacefully participating in a sit-in at the César Gaviria Viaduct, which links that city with neighboring Dosquebradas.

The Ombudsman's Office reported on Wednesday at least 24 homicides during the protests. However, the Attorney General's Office determined that "11 violent deaths occurred during these demonstrations, seven are being verified, and six homicides have no link" with the protests.

However, social organizations and NGOs that document cases of police brutality, such as Temblores, increase this figure to 37 homicides by the police in events that occurred between April 28 - when the demonstrations began - on April 5.