In Colombia, Petro fends off criticism over killing of child rebel recruits

Bogota, Colombia – Eight underage rebel recruits were killed past week aft the Colombian authorities launched a caller subject violative against a salient equipped group, according to President Gustavo Petro.

The quality comes amid soaring kid recruitment by Colombia’s equipped groups successful caller years and has ignited a statement implicit whether forced recruits tin beryllium protected connected the battlefield.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Colombia’s Petro halts quality sharing with US implicit Caribbean strikes
• list 2 of 3Colombia to support US intelligence-sharing to combat cause trafficking
• list 3 of 3Colombia’s Petro inks $4.3bn woody for 17 combatant jets amid determination tension

In a Monday post connected the societal media level X, President Petro confirmed that 7 adolescents were killed successful a authorities bombing run successful the confederate Guaviare section connected November 10.

Another insignificant was killed 3 days later, connected November 13, successful a authorities violative successful the eastbound section of Arauca.

Those deaths bring the full fig of teenage fatalities to astatine slightest 12 successful nether 2 months.

“All of them were victims of forced recruitment by criminals who person dragged them into hostilities and deprived them of protection,” Petro, himself a erstwhile rebel, wrote successful his post.

But the question of however to support kid recruits is simply a arguable 1 successful Colombia, wherever equipped actors person progressively sought to exploit minors.

An uptick successful kid recruitment

For much than six decades, an equipped struggle has roiled Colombia, pitting authorities forces against right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and transgression groups.

Official authorities statistic suggest that those groups person sought to turn their ranks by appealing to radical nether the property of 18 — and successful immoderate cases, coercing them into work.

According to the government, the fig of kid recruits has accrued by 1,000 percent from 2021 to 2024.

That uptick was echoed successful a June study from the United Nations. It determined that, from 2022 to 2024, determination were 474 confirmed cases of equipped groups utilizing oregon recruiting minors.

In the archetypal 4th of 2025, the bureau received allegations of a further 118 kid recruits.

Some of the victims, the study added, were arsenic young arsenic 9 years old. Many were from Colombia’s Indigenous communities.

The latest casualties travel arsenic Petro’s authorities intensifies its counterinsurgency against the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a dissident radical that splintered disconnected from the now-demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Elizabeth Dickinson, the lawman manager for Latin America astatine the International Crisis Group, a deliberation tank, said that the EMC is notable for drafting connected children to bolster its ranks.

“The EMC, particularly, is possibly the radical that’s astir liable oregon astir blameworthy of recruiting minors successful caller years,” she told Al Jazeera.

She explained that the radical uses children arsenic “human shields”, deploying them astir the perimeter of its commanders’ positions.

A statue of rebel commandant Miguel Botache Santillana stands astatine the entranceway of a schoolhouse built by the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), an equipped radical successful Colombia [File: Luis Jaime Acosta/Reuters]

Petro faces backlash

But however the authorities approaches subject actions that whitethorn harm kid recruits has drawn disapproval successful Colombia.

The state is facing a cardinal statesmanlike predetermination successful 2026, and Petro’s left-wing authorities has faced backlash for the caller drawstring of deaths.

Already, the absorption has seized upon the sidesplitting of kid recruits arsenic a imaginable usurpation of planetary humanitarian law.

Lawmakers successful Congress person projected a question of censure against Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez for the deaths.

Some, including Representative Katherine Miranda, person called for Sanchez to resign immediately.

On societal media this week, Miranda besides directed an entreaty to Petro: “Face the state and reply for the authorities transgression you are committing against children who are victims of forced recruitment.”

Dickinson astatine the International Crisis Group told Al Jazeera that kid recruits are not without extortion nether planetary law, arsenic Petro’s caller station mightiness suggest.

“That is not correct,” Dickinson said. “These are victims of conflict. They are children. They were forcibly recruited.”

The Geneva Convention, for instance, requires authorities parties to “take each feasible measures” to guarantee that kid recruits nether property 15 are not progressive successful hostilities.

“Children are simply a world successful the struggle today,” said Dickinson. “And truthful the authorities has to instrumentality that connected committee if they are engaging successful bombardments.”

EMC rebel fighters locomotion on a roadworthy successful Llanos del Yari, Colombia, connected April 12, 2024 [Luis Jaime Acosta/Reuters]

‘Brutally naive’

Hilda Molano, a coordinator astatine the Coalition Against the Involvement of Children and Young People successful the Armed Conflict successful Colombia (COALICO), said it tin beryllium hard to property blasted for the deaths of kid recruits successful combat.

But she called connected each parties to instrumentality the rights of children into account, contempt the analyzable situation.

“In cases similar these, it is wide that nary azygous enactment is responsible; ultimately, it is simply a shared responsibility,” Molano told Al Jazeera.

Molano called for the Colombian authorities to bash much to deter kid recruitment and to amended its beingness successful struggle zones.

Children successful struggle zones, she said, look “the treble risk” of being recruited by equipped groups and being killed by authorities information forces.

The Petro government, meanwhile, has maintained that its actions adhere to planetary laws for the extortion of children.

Al Jazeera has reached retired to the Ministry of Defence for remark but did not person a effect by the clip of publication.

On societal media, the president claimed his efforts had already led to the merchandise of 2,411 minors.

“Peace is the champion mode to forestall children from being progressive successful war,” helium wrote.

He besides confirmed his government’s plans to proceed its run against the EMC, which has been liable for a question of car bombs and drone attacks targeting subject and constabulary installations this year.

On Tuesday, Petro dismissed calls to cease the authorities strikes, writing connected X: “To accidental that the bombings should halt erstwhile we are wrong IHL [international humanitarian law] is brutally naive.”