The mayor of Sipí, Juan Wilmer Rivas, denounced that there is a very serious public order problem in the rural area of the municipality and asked the national government for a strong and permanent presence of the public force.
The rural area of Sipí is the scene of a growing armed confrontation between members of the ELN guerrillas and paramilitaries of the Clan del Golfo.
The most recent confrontation occurred on May 25, causing a gunshot wound to the leg to a woman from a corregimiento, who, fortunately, was able to be evacuated from the place.
“If they don’t listen to us, at any moment there will be a disaster. A combat is formed in the middle of those communities and there could be a very worrying disaster”, said the mayor.
And he added: “The alert that is being transmitted is due to public order in rural areas, where 40% of the population is. It is very worrying because there have been combats in that area repeatedly and people are moving little by little because they do not see the presence of the security forces. The public forces arrive two or three days, but it is not enough because when they leave the groups arrive.
“What we ask of the State and the national government is that, having been a municipality so hit by violence, we expected a haven of peace, but today is when there is more war and there has been no tranquility in the rural area. If the Government does not support us, it will be very difficult, that today has us stuck on all social issues, because with the displacements and confinements everything is paralyzed, it is even time to send the students home and poverty increases ”, he concluded.