Duque orders greater deployment of public force in Cali 0:40
(CNN Spanish) -
The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, called for calm in the city of Cali, which has been the site of riots since the end of April and which this Sunday experienced a confusing and violent day.
According to an indigenous organization, several injured people were reported.
“Today is the moment when we must all come to a halt in this situation.
The authorities are deployed, the ministers are in the territory and I have asked them to accompany them with the local authority.
The Cali community has suffered a lot, the blockades have affected them, society at this time has also felt threatened, "Duque said this Sunday during a message to the nation.
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Duque's words came hours after the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC) denounced what it classified as an “armed attack” in southern Cali, which left at least eight people wounded by gunshots.
Members of the CRIC have been mobilizing to the city since the end of April to support the anti-government demonstrations.
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In a video that CRIC published on social networks, it is seen how a group of people is gathered in a street when detonations begin to be heard and the group runs to cover.
You can hear in the video how a person says that the police are shooting at them, although it is not possible to see if someone was attacking the crowd.
In another video published by the organization, another person is heard saying that those who shoot are paramilitaries, but neither can the alleged aggressors be seen.
Meanwhile, people run and, at one point, a person is seen lying on the ground, who was allegedly injured, according to the video.
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The National Police indicated in a statement that "in related videos", it is possible to observe indigenous people "generating shots with firearms and inciting terrorism", as well as "looting of houses" and that they have caused injuries to four people with a sharp weapon and blunt objects.
He added that they managed to evidence the incineration of two vans and the vandalism of several private vehicles with people inside.
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Images that police previously shared with CNN show at least one vehicle on fire after the incidents.
The police did not provide information about this incident.
The CRIC responded to this statement through another post on Facebook where it dissociated itself from the attacks and shootings, in addition to raising a call for attention to international human rights organizations.
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The organization affirmed that members of the National Police "dressed in civilian clothes, infiltrated among some citizens" used their firearms to "sow chaos."
As proof of his statements, the CRIC published a video where the mobilization of several white trucks is observed.
According to the CRIC, one of them “is identical” to the one that transported armed people in civilian clothes on Friday and who, according to them, were determined to be policemen.
CNN asked the CRIC for additional information on the events it denounces.
CNN has not been able to independently corroborate the veracity of these videos or the CRIC allegations.
Both parties did not mention whether they would file a complaint for these events.
For its part, the Ombudsman's Office reported on Twitter that "information reported by regional delegates is being delivered to the competent authorities: evidence of alleged actions of shooting or assaults from unidentified cars in Cali."
This CRIC complaint also comes after several hours of tension between members of the group and some inhabitants of southern Cali, due to blockades allegedly imposed by indigenous people, several residents of the area told a CNN team.
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Residents said that members of the CRIC blocked the streets and did not allow people to circulate freely to and from the area.
In his message on Sunday, President Duque referred to citizen opposition to the blockades.
"I want to make a call to the members of the CRIC: we have seen that the public at this time has suffered a lot from the blockades and at this moment they feel a rejection that additional blockades are generated or their security is threatened," he said.
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«To avoid unnecessary confrontations, I want to make a call to the Lords of the CRIC to return once again to their guards.
I have asked the Minister of the Interior to get in touch with them, not to limit mobility but so that it is understood that this is not the time to generate provocation or confrontations with society, "he added.
The mayor of Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina, said on Twitter on Sunday that there was "an indigenous problem and a citizen strike, it is a political problem and it is a national political problem that takes place in Cali," which required the intervention of the President Duque.
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"This political problem, which we Caleños do not generate, needs your visit, you and the entire national conglomerate to resolve it through dialogue," added Ospina, addressing President Duque.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, at least 27 people have died during riots that have occurred in Colombia since April 28, in the framework of protests against a tax reform proposal promoted by the government and that was later withdrawn.
Until this Saturday, 364 civilians and 41 members of the public force injured during the riots were also reported, according to the institution's data.
* With information from Wilson Barco.
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