Bogotá, March 6 (RHC) -– Five people were killed Wednesday by an armed group that invaded a farm in northern Colombia, the public defenders office said in a statement.

A sixth person was also injured in the attack which occurred in the pre-dawn hours in Bonda, on the outskirts of the city of Santa Marta, the office said, calling on police and prosecutors to quickly "clarify the circumstances around these events."

The victims -- three men and two women -- "were surprised by individuals carrying long-range weapons" on the property and immediately shot, the statement said.

This incident is part of a year-long trend of paramilitary groups proliferating in the area, it added, where battles over turf "are starting to create unrest in seven communities" around Santa Marta.

The deaths followed a similar event on Tuesday, when twelve members of the National Liberation Army rebel group and two Colombian Army soldiers died during a firefight in the town of Las Pavas in the department of Arauca.