Sign reads "More than 50 massacres, over 190 people killed."  (Photo: Twitter/ @porlavisioncom)

Bogota, January 25 (RHC)-- Colombia's National Police Director Jorge Vargas Sunday confirmed another massacre in the Cauca department where four young people were killed and three others were injured.

Unidentified armed men opened fire against a group of people aged between 17 and 18 years old in the Buga municipality.  The victims were identified as Juan Marin, Nicolas Suarez, Valentina Arias, and Sara Rodriguez.  Likewise, 60-year-old Ramiro Martinez, Santiago Tascon aged 17, and Jacobo Perez aged 18 were seriously wounded.

Condemning the event, the NGO Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (INDEPAZ) noted that massacres climbed to six so far this year -- in just 23 days. 

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanded that President Ivan Duque's administration  address the increasing violence in the country, given that 252 ex-combatants and 378 social leaders and human rights activists have been killed since the signing of the Peace Agreement in 2016. 

The head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia (UNMC), Carlos Ruiz, highlighted that such violence constituted "the greatest threat" to the peacebuilding process while calling for effective improvements on rural reforms, political participation, and reintegration of former rebel combatants. 

In 2020, over 28,500 Colombians were forced to leave their homes due to violence while 383 people died in 91 massacres in the country.