Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Update - Colombia 1/2002 - LACO 21 Appeal
Civilians caught up in fighting - north western Colombia
Geneva, 6 May, 2002


The civil population of Bellavista, Municipality of Bojaya, north west
Colombia have been caught up in fighting between the Marxist FARC
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the right-wing paramilitary
AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia).  The FARC and the AUC have
been battling for control of this remote region for several years as part
of Colombia's civil war.

Project Counseling Service, ACT member in Colombia, reports that on the
afternoon of 2 May 103 persons were killed (38 of them children), 114
wounded and 80 disappeared when a homemade mortar was fired at the
Catholic church, where the population was sheltering.

On 1 May 2002 fighting started between the AUC operating from Bellavista
and the FARC operating from Vigia del Puerto - across the Atrato river
that separates the two villages.  Following the explosion the inhabitants
of Bellavista - around 1,000 persons - fled to Vigia del Puerto, leaving
their dead relatives unburied. The situation is very precarious as the
fighting continues and humanitarian agencies cannot access the area.
Sources from the Catholic Church in the region report that more than
45,000 persons are caught up in the fighting. Some of the population have
managed to escape down the Atrato River towards the provincial capital.

Authorities attributed the homemade mortar attack to the FARC, but it is
unclear if they were aiming for the church.  It is also reported that the
authorities ignored alerts from different NGOs, as well as from the High
Commissioner on Human Rights in Colombia and the Ombudsman, regarding the
high risk that the population of that region was facing due to the
movement of the two armed groups in the region.

The ACT member in Colombia, PCS, reports that they are mobilizing their
partners in the region to support the affected population.

An appeal for the displaced population in Colombia was issued on 18 March
2002.  However, the response from the network has been very slow (5.78%).
The ACT CO requests our members to consider contributing to this appeal.

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Director, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile
phone ++ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Elsa Moreno(phone ++41 22 791 6420 or
mobile phone ++ 41 79 608 8133)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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