Colombian activist murders create unease amid Farc peace talks
Source: Guardian
Colombian activist murders create unease amid Farc peace talks
Killings of leftwing activists draw condemnation from rebels as deal may come past self-imposed 23 March deadline over hang-up on disarming guerrillas
Sibylla Brodzinsky in Bogotá
Wednesday 9 March 2016 17.04 EST
As Colombia moves closes to ending half a century of war with Farc rebels, a string of murders across the country has offered a grim reminder of the persistent dangers faced by leftwing activists.
William Castillo, a member of the leftwing grassroots movement Marcha Patriótica, was gunned down Monday in the north-eastern town of Bagre in Antioquia, the latest in a string of killings that has left three other community leaders dead in the past 10 days in different parts of the country.
A day earlier, Klaus Zapata, a member of the Communist Youth group, was killed while playing football in the Bogotá suburb of Soacha.
Marisela Tombe, a peasant leader in Cuaca province, was gunned down 28 February, while Willar Alexander Oime, the governor of an indigenous reserve also in Cauca, was killed in the city of Popayan last week.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/09/colombia-leftwing-activists-murdered-farc-peace-deal