CPTnet
16 June 2007
COLOMBIA PRAYER REQUEST: Combat in Los Ñeques
On the morning of 14 June 2007, combat between the FARC and the National
Army occurred in the community of Los Ñeques. Community members contacted
CPT to report that they had heard machine-gun fire and explosions and feared
that the battle would endanger their lives. When a member of the Colombia
team asked why team members had not been able to reach them earlier, the
woman replied, "We were so afraid we were hiding out in the chicken coop in
the back of the farm." Another community member expressed concern for her
sons who had left early in the morning to work in the fields.
A phone call to the colonel of the battalion involved in the combat
confirmed that his soldiers had engaged in combat and killed two guerrilla
fighters. He also confirmed that the fighting had ended. The Colombia team
expressed its concern about the safety of the civilians. The constant
presence of the different armed actors in the area continues to threaten the
wellbeing of the Opón communities that CPT accompanies.
The Opón communities need your thoughts and prayers as they face this new
outbreak of violence. The communities have already been displaced four
times over the last decade because of fighting such as this. CPT laments
this outbreak of violence and the loss of life and continues to call for an
end to the armed conflict in Colombia through political negotiations.
Colombia team members hope you will join in accompanying these vulnerable
communities through your prayers and support for the work of CPT.
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Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in
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