Colombian soldiers spread the word in the streets after a deadly day of protest over Human Rights News

Colombian soldiers have begun deployment in the southwest The city of Cali in Colombia after the president Ivan Duque he ordered a mass explosion that erupted amid mass protests against the government.

Tens of thousands of people marched across Colombia on Friday a month protests, which erupted now retired tax reform and have since expanded long list of orders.

The streets of the country, the third largest city with a population of 2.2 million, were quiet on Saturday, hours after clashes between protesters, police and armed civilians killed several people.

Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina said in a video message that at least 13 people were killed on Friday, but specified that it was not clear that all the deaths were “linked to the protests and have a full connection.”

“This unfortunate day has resulted in a very high number of deaths,” Ospina said, adding that at least 34 people were injured.

A representative of the Attorney General’s office said the confirmation of the cause of death will have to be reported on Sunday.

On Friday, in a case, a Cali prosecutor’s representative said an unemployed investigator had shot at a crowd and killed a civilian before being lynched by protesters.

In the video footage a man was lying in a pool of blood and another nearby man was carrying a gun; then this man was attacked by a group of people.

“In the south of the city, we had a real confrontation scene and almost an urban war, not only did many people lose their lives, we also had a lot of injuries,” Cali security secretary Carlos Rojas told Caracol radio earlier. Saturday.

Cali was created earlier this month, as the epicenter of the nationwide protest movement, some protesters lifted blockades that prevented access to fuel and other goods.

Talks between the government and protest leaders have stalled including the union leaders who formed the national strike committee.

Violence has erupted in protests and dozens of people have been killed so far, according to local human rights groups, and Colombian police have accused him of using excessive force.

Friday, Duke he announced the military sent them to the province of Valle del Cauca and Calico, its capital, as a result of deadly violence.

“From tonight onwards, the maximum deployment of military aid to the national police in the provinces of Caliko and Valle begins,” Duque said in a televised message.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the American division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said on Saturday that Duque’s measures to restore order in the province “have no explicit mention of prioritizing dialogue, avoiding excessive force and respecting human rights.”

“It’s a serious failure that can have irreparable consequences,” he said he tweeted.

A day earlier, the United Nations Office of Human Rights in Colombia indicate concern for death, calling for “calm and non-violence”.

Elizabeth Dickinson, Colombia’s chief analyst at the International Crisis Group, also tweeted that “the risk of escalating violence in #Cali is very high.”

“There is no armed or military solution to this crisis. But agendas on all sides are increasingly tempting to seek, ”he wrote on Friday, adding that Colombia was“ on the brink of a new armed conflict ”.

Meanwhile, Colombian protesters have pledged to continue with the demonstrations.

“Until we hear from the government, we must continue on the streets,” 23-year-old protester Alejandro Franco told Reuters news agency in the capital Bogota.

Franco said he was in favor of better education and health, among other things. “If the people don’t have peace, so does the government,” he added.

Let me be clear: the risk of escalating violence #Cali it is very high

There is no armed or military solution to this crisis. But agendas on all sides are increasingly tempting

Without being an alarmist, we are on the brink of new armed conflict

– Elizabeth Dickinson (@dickinsonbeth) May 28, 2021

Sandra Borda, an analyst and protests expert, told The Associated Press that there is a crisis of representation in the government, as there is limited room for maneuver, and in the National Strike Committee, not all sectors are protesting.

“I think we are facing a scenario that will be resolved soon, because the only thing the government can control with a level of efficiency are the state forces and so it continues to try to resolve the situation hard by hand,” he said. .

“When the state forces are excessive, there is more anger, more anger and more fuel is added to the fire of the demonstrations.”