Colombia airstrikes killed six minors, officials say

Colombia's forensics authority said Friday that six minors have been killed in airstrikes on guerrilla groups since President Abelardo de la Espriella took office on August 7, a day after a judge ordered restrictions on bombings where children may be present.

Authorities said De la Espriella has ordered three bombardments that have killed at least 42 people. The National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences said two of the minors died on August 31 in a Guaviare strike that killed 24 suspected members of a dissident faction of the former FARC rebel group. Four minors had already been reported killed in two earlier bombardments in Guaviare and in Catatumbo, near Venezuela.

The September 3 order requires the government to suspend bombings of guerrilla camps when intelligence or other alerts suggest children or adolescents recruited by the groups may be there. The temporary measure remains in force while a judge considers legal action over alleged violations of minors' fundamental rights. The defence ministry has asserted that its operations in Guaviare are legal.

De la Espriella has broken off peace talks with armed groups launched by the previous government and has vowed to crush rebels involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion. Rights groups warn that children and teenagers are being recruited by armed groups; Colombia's ombudsman reported 428 cases of child recruitment last year, and Human Rights Watch said last week that in some cases children were being used as "cannon fodder."