Rights teams warn that armed teams are more and more recruiting youngsters to their ranks by way of social media.
Printed On 31 Aug 2026
Three minors have been amongst these killed in a Colombian army air strike on cocaine-trafficking rebels final week, authorities mentioned, as President Abelardo de la Espriella intensifies operations towards armed teams.
The August 27 bombing within the southern Guaviare division was the deadliest army operation since de la Espriella took workplace earlier this month. The Nationwide Institute of Authorized Drugs and Forensic Sciences mentioned that 10 individuals in whole have been killed within the operation. The Ministry of Nationwide Defence reported that two of the victims have been 15 and one other was 16.
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The victims allegedly belonged to a dissident faction of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that rejected a 2016 peace settlement with the federal government.
De la Espriella, a right-wing chief and ally of United States President Donald Trump, mentioned on Monday that one other bombing in the identical space killed eight members of a FARC dissident group led by commander Ivan Mordisco. It isn’t identified whether or not any minors have been among the many lifeless.
“The bandits, who for many years have recruited minors to show them into combatants or human shields, should pay for these crimes that violate Worldwide Humanitarian Legislation,” he wrote on X.
The Defence Ministry mentioned on Monday that 24 suspected rebels have been killed in army operations since de la Espriella took workplace.
The strikes come as child recruitment by armed teams is once more rising in Colombia, in keeping with a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report printed final week.
Not less than 1,500 youngsters have been recruited by armed teams since 2021, with 625 instances reported in 2024, in keeping with the report.
The watchdog mentioned that felony and insurgent teams are utilizing social media to recruit youngsters, together with to hold out more and more harmful duties, comparable to working drones loaded with explosives. In addition they reported that algorithms on platforms together with Meta and TikTok “seem to have actively promoted” content material encouraging youngsters to affix insurgent teams.
“Armed teams in Colombia are recruiting youngsters with impunity,” mentioned Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director. “Safety programs are failing, and social media platforms have develop into a simpler recruiting floor.”
Meta and TikTok advised HRW that they prohibit content material selling violence and had eliminated accounts flagged by the organisation.
