UN sounds alarm over mass displacements in Colombia
BOGOTA: The United Nations is sounding alarm over fighting that is pushing hundreds of mostly black and indigenous Colombians out of homes in areas formerly dominated by leftist rebels.
The mass displacements in recent weeks have left 913 families homeless in four provinces along the Pacific Ocean.
Colombia has one of the world's largest populations of internal refugees. Almost 7 million people have been displaced during decades of armed conflict.
A peace deal with the country's main rebel group has reduced hostilities. But criminal gangs and a smaller rebel army are moving fast to fill the void and are battling each other for control of major drug routes
The U.N. Refugee Agency in a statement Wednesday called on authorities to boost their presence in the affected areas.