BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of former guerrilla fighters and their families were forced to leave their village in southern Colombia on Tuesday after receiving death threats from a rebel group still fighting the government, authorities said.
The displaced former fighters were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombiathe guerrilla movement that signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016.
For the past seven years, the former fighters have lived in Miravalle, a village built for them by the Colombian government, where they worked on agricultural projects, raised chickens and even ran whitewater rafting trips for tourists.
But in June, the Ivan Diaz Front, a rebel group fighting for control of farmland and drug trafficking routes in Colombia’s Caqueta province, accused Miravalle residents of supporting another rebel group in the area and gave them 40 days to leave.
On Tuesday, more than 80 people, including former fighters, their children and their wives, left the Miravalle area for another village — also inhabited by former FARC fighters — 200 kilometers (124 miles) to the south, carrying their animals and belongings in a caravan organized by the Colombian government.
“We are leaving this place, but we continue to focus on building peace,” Carlos Zamudio, a former FARC fighter who has lived in Miravalle for the past seven years, said in a video published by ARN, a Colombian government agency that helps former fighters adapt to civilian life.
Following the 2016 peace accord, which saw more than 14,000 FARC fighters lay down their weapons, the Colombian government created 24 villages in rural areas where former fighters could start businesses and rebuild their lives.
These villages are known as temporary spaces for capacity building and reintegration. Originally, they were mainly inhabited by former FARC fighters.
But the population of these villages, also known by their Spanish acronym ETCR, has shrunk significantly due to security concerns and also because many former fighters have difficulty finding work there.
Five ETCRs, including Miravalle, have been completely abandoned as former fighters face threats from groups still armed and fighting for control of the area around these villages.
The Colombian government is holding firm peace talks with many of the country’s remaining rebel groupsbut ensuring the safety of former FARC fighters remains a challenge.
According to a United Nations report published in April, 416 former FARC fighters have been killed since the peace accord was signed in 2016.
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