Judge orders Colombia’s military to suspend air strikes on illegal armed groups

A court ordered the government and the military to suspend air strikes on suspected members of illegal armed groups while studying the risk of harm to child forced recruitment victims.

In a preliminary sentence, the Bogota family court in response to a lawsuit that was filed by a civilian who claimed the State ignored its obligation to protect children when carrying out air strikes on illegal armed groups.

TO ORDER the PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC, the MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, the GENERAL COMMAND OF THE MILITARY FORCES, the NATIONAL ARMY, the COLOMBIAN AEROSPACE FORCE, and the NATIONAL NAVY, through the appropriate channels and within the scope of their respective authorities, that, pending a decision on the merits in this constitutional protection action, they refrain from conducting offensive air operations against targets regarding which there is certain, objective, or reasonably verifiable information regarding the presence of children or adolescents recruited or used by armed groups, until the necessary precautionary and protective measures have been adopted and verified, and it has been determined, based on the available information and applicable operational protocols, that there is no less harmful operational alternative that would allow the legitimate military objective being pursued to be achieved

Bogota family court

According to Radio Caracol, at least 107 minors were killed in air strikes on illegal armed groups since they were resumed by former President Ivan Duque in 2018.

The sentence comes a day after President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the military killed 23 “narcoterrorists” in the deadliest air strike during the peace process that started in 2016.

The president vowed to resume bombing campaigns that were all but suspended by former President Gustavo Petro as he sought peace and demobilization talks with multiple illegal armed groups, a strategy rejected by the new far-right government.

Following the killing of at least three children in an air strike carried out in August, Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora blamed guerrilla organizations for the deaths, claiming they were recruiting children for human shields and combatants.

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