Fears of militarization as Colombian troops deployed
AFP, BOGOTA
In Colombia, a country still reeling from six decades of civil war and battling ongoing spurts of violence, fears have been raised of a creeping militarization as police and soldiers have forcefully clamped down on protests.
Colombia’s human rights ombudsman said that 19 people — 18 of them civilians — had been killed and more than 800 injured in clashes with uniformed officers deployed as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in anti-government rallies.
With the backing of the army commander, President Ivan Duque on Saturday said that he would use “military assistance” to combat “those who through violence, vandalism and terrorism seek to intimidate society.”