The OAS Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has found that the Colombian air force is responsible for the deaths of 17 civilians killed when a village was cluster-bombed in 1998.
The Costa Rica-based court said on Tuesday Colombia should accelerate the indemnification process and include in it those who didn’t appeal to the justice system, as well as making a public acknowledgment of the state’s responsibility in the deaths, which occurred in Santo Domingo, in the northeastern state of Arauca.
In a statement, the court’s judges said “the actions took place within the context of an air-transported military operation against the guerrillas that lasted for several days”.
In 2009, a judge found two Colombian air force pilots guilty of murder and sentenced them to 31 years in prison each for the killings.
