BOGOTA: Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said Saturday that seven children were killed in a controversial airstrike against a rebel group in the country’s south earlier this week, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro steps up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province.
In a statement, ombudswoman Iris Marin said the minors killed in the strike against the FARC-EMC rebel group had been forcibly recruited and were being used as “human shields.”
Marin called on the Colombian government and rebel groups in the country to respect international humanitarian law. The public defender had initially said that six minors were killed in the strike, but updated the death toll following a statement from Colombia’s Forensic Medicine institute.
“No child or teenager who has been recruited should be affected by military operations,” Marin said. “The armed forces must adopt precautions to protect children who have been forced to take part in hostilities.”
Earlier this week, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed criminal groups for putting children in danger and told journalists that in his view, “whoever gets involved in hostilities loses protection, without distinction.”
The deaths of children in military strikes is a sensitive topic in Colombia, where a former defense minister resigned in 2019, after it was found that the government covered up t he deaths of eight children during an airstrike in the province of Caqueta.
According to Colombia’s military, at least 19 fighters were killed in the strike that took place on Tuesday in Guaviare, including the six minors.
Petro said Saturday that he had decided to order the airstrike because the column of rebel fighters was advancing toward a position from where they could ambush a smaller group of Colombian troops.
“The death of any person is regrettable, and especially that of minors,” Petro wrote on X. “I took a risk to save the lives” of soldiers.
Petro suspended airstrikes against criminal groups shortly after he came into office three years ago, in order to decrease the possibilities of killing minors. The left wing leader had accused previous governments of committing “war crimes” when it was found that minors died in airstrikes against rebel groups.
But airstrikes against Colombian rebels resumed last year, as the Petro administration struggles to contain the expansion of groups that are fighting to take over territory abandoned by the FARC, the guerrilla group that made peace with the Colombian government in 2016.
Petro is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, which he has described as “extrajudicial executions.”
On Friday he argued that his government’s airstrikes against rebels groups are different.
“Those who are falling in the bombardments of Colombian forces have machine guns, explosives, and have declared themselves members of an armed group,” Petro wrote on X. “They are trying to eliminate government forces and civilians with their lethal weapons.”
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Colombian officials say 7 children were killed in an airstrike against a rebel group this week
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Colombian officials say 7 children were killed in an airstrike against a rebel group this week
- Marin said the minors killed in the strike against the FARC-EMC rebel group had been forcibly recruited and were being used as “human shields”
- “No child or teenager who has been recruited should be affected by military operations”
White House steps up attacks on CNN
- Communications director Steven Cheung calls CNN cowardly for not inviting Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be interviewed
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump accused a CNN journalist of being “an arm of the Democrat Party”
WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday intensified its attacks on CNN, the news network at the center of a financial battle that President Donald Trump is tied up in politically and through family.
Echoing the president’s frequent anti-media barbs, senior members of his administration lashed out.
“CNN = Chicken News Network,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X Thursday, calling CNN cowardly for not inviting Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be interviewed “presumably because they are scared Stephen will school them.”
Vice President JD Vance then shared the post, adding: “If CNN wants to be a real news network it should feature important voices from our administration.”
A CNN spokesperson said Miller would be welcome back on the channel, Fox News reported Thursday.
“As a news organization, we make editorial decisions about the stories we cover and when, and that depends on the news priorities of the day. We look forward to having Stephen on again in the future as the news warrants,” the CNN spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The harshest attack on CNN from the Trump administration came from an official White House account called Rapid Response 47, which went after Kaitlan Collins, one of the network’s most prominent correspondents, saying she “is not a journalist. She is a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party.”
On Wednesday, the president confronted another CNN journalist similarly, and said “you know you work for the Democrats, don’t you? You are basically an arm of the Democrat Party.”
CNN has yet to comment publicly on those allegations. In the past, the network has responded to criticism of political bias by asserting that it is committed to objective journalism and fairness.
CNN for sale
Founded in 1980 to provide global television news coverage, CNN is currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the media conglomerate at the heart of a bidding war between streaming giant Netflix and Paramount Skydance, the latter of which is led by CEO David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.
The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has joined Paramount’s bid through his investment firm.
And Trump has already indicated he intends to get involved in the government’s decision to approve or block a sale, which would typically involve the Justice Department.
Under Paramount’s offer, CNN would fall into Ellison’s hands.
Under the Netflix deal, Warner Bros. Discovery would sell off CNN and other cable news properties separately before closing the sale of its studio and streaming operations.
The 79-year-old president said Wednesday he wants to ensure CNN gets new ownership as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery sale, seeming to favor a Paramount purchase.
“I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue. I think CNN should be sold along with everything else,” Trump said.
Echoing the president’s frequent anti-media barbs, senior members of his administration lashed out.
“CNN = Chicken News Network,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X Thursday, calling CNN cowardly for not inviting Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be interviewed “presumably because they are scared Stephen will school them.”
Vice President JD Vance then shared the post, adding: “If CNN wants to be a real news network it should feature important voices from our administration.”
A CNN spokesperson said Miller would be welcome back on the channel, Fox News reported Thursday.
“As a news organization, we make editorial decisions about the stories we cover and when, and that depends on the news priorities of the day. We look forward to having Stephen on again in the future as the news warrants,” the CNN spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The harshest attack on CNN from the Trump administration came from an official White House account called Rapid Response 47, which went after Kaitlan Collins, one of the network’s most prominent correspondents, saying she “is not a journalist. She is a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party.”
On Wednesday, the president confronted another CNN journalist similarly, and said “you know you work for the Democrats, don’t you? You are basically an arm of the Democrat Party.”
CNN has yet to comment publicly on those allegations. In the past, the network has responded to criticism of political bias by asserting that it is committed to objective journalism and fairness.
CNN for sale
Founded in 1980 to provide global television news coverage, CNN is currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the media conglomerate at the heart of a bidding war between streaming giant Netflix and Paramount Skydance, the latter of which is led by CEO David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.
The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has joined Paramount’s bid through his investment firm.
And Trump has already indicated he intends to get involved in the government’s decision to approve or block a sale, which would typically involve the Justice Department.
Under Paramount’s offer, CNN would fall into Ellison’s hands.
Under the Netflix deal, Warner Bros. Discovery would sell off CNN and other cable news properties separately before closing the sale of its studio and streaming operations.
The 79-year-old president said Wednesday he wants to ensure CNN gets new ownership as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery sale, seeming to favor a Paramount purchase.
“I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue. I think CNN should be sold along with everything else,” Trump said.
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