BOGOTA – The Colombian army has apologized for killing thousands of civilians and falsely passing them off as left-wing guerrillas to boost its kill rate during the country’s armed conflict.
An inquiry found that 6,402 civilians were murdered by the military between 2002 and 2008 and passed off as rebels in a practice dubbed “false positives”.
In an event attended by mothers of some of the victims, the defense minister called the killings “shameful”.
“They were not rebels,” he added.
The commander of the Colombian army, Luis Ospina, said that “painful acts were committed by members of the national army that should never have happened”.
Victims were young men mainly from poor neighborhoods in and around the capital, Bogotá.
They were lured with promises of work to rural parts of Colombia, where soldiers executed them. They were then dressed in guerrilla fatigues or had weapons placed in their hands.
The army’s aim was to give the impression that it was winning its fight against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group.
Soldiers have testified that they were pressured by their superiors to drive up their “kill rate” and how they would be rewarded by being given promotions or extra days off.
For years, the relatives of the victims fought to have the truth about their loved ones known. (BBC)
