Armed forces under investigation ‘for executing children’ in deadly raid
The Colombian Army has been accused of committing war crimes after some of its soldiers allegedly murdered unarmed children and teenagers in cold blood, it has been reported.
Accusations centre around a raid called Operation Berlin, an assault targeting Colombia's rebel FARC guerilla group in November 2000, according to reports in the Telegraph.
It is reported that leaked court documents conclude the military "likely" committed war crimes by executing children and committing extrajudicial killings – meaning rebels were killed without any legal process taking place.
Reports from Colombia’s Forensic Medicine state 28 children died during the raid as part of 78 rebels who were killed within the Arturo Ruíz mobile column of the rebel group.
Many of the youngsters involved said to have been forced to fight for the rebels, who were no match for the organised Colombian forces and were overwhelmed during the military operation.
One survivor told The Sunday Telegraph that she witnessed the army shoot her friends.
"I remember how they killed at least four minors, who were helpless," she said.
"When they were going to kill me, the officer arrived and chastised his soldiers for having killed the others."
It is reported that post-mortem reports show evidence of close-range gunshot wounds and fatal cranial trauma.
Renee Willmon is a forensic anthropologist and cold case investigator in Toronto, Canada who believes it is unlikely that the victims died as a result of combat, as claimed by the Colombian army.
She said: "Fatal injuries sustained in battle are more likely to involve multiple areas of the body than observed in these reports.
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"In cases where directionality of firearm injuries to the head can be assessed from the images, the relative position of deceased and shooter appears inconsistent with a face to face, or position with both individuals standing, based on the pattern and location of entrance and exit wounds."
The rebels were said to be made up of a total of 141 children, a fact court documents allege that if the Colombian Army knew of before they launched the attack, something the military has always denied, this could also constitute a war crime.
An army intelligence report, dated a month before the offensive began and reported to have been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, states: "In the Arturo Ruíz mobile column, there are approximately 150 minors between 14 and 17-years-old."
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