Accusations that a group of soldiers sexually assaulted two young Indigenous girls in rural Colombia have sparked protests outside army bases and rekindled fears about the military's human rights record, especially in parts of the country still recovering from decades of armed conflict.
"The armed forces are supposed to be protecting us, and instead they have become a threat," said Kuiru Castro, whose ancestors from the Huitoto tribe suffered similar violence at the hands of rubber tappers in the 1920s.
In one case which came to light last week, authorities say seven soldiers from an army garrison in western Colombia acknowledged abducting an 11-year-old girl from the Embera tribe and sexually assaulting her. The soldiers were arrested and are being held at a military base while the case is investigated, though Indigenous groups are demanding they be sent to jail.
On Monday, the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a Colombian think tank, revealed details of an alleged second rape case that occurred last September in the southern Guaviare province.
According to the foundation, a group of soldiers from a local army base abducted a 15-year-old girl and held her inside the base for five days, where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted.
