Remains of 14 victims exhumed in Colombia

[Judi Lynn]

AP Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007

Posted on Wed, Feb. 28, 2007
Remains of 14 victims exhumed in Colombia
The Associated Press

Investigators have exhumed the remains of 14 victims of paramilitary violence buried in a municipal cemetery in northern Colombia without proper funerals, authorities said Tuesday.

Manuel Hernandez, chief of the federal criminal investigation unit for Sucre state, said investigators believe 29 bodies were illegally buried in this fashion from 2001 to 2003.

"The people were buried without any identifying marker or name. The cause of death was violent ... from gunfire," Hernandez said from San Onofre, 370 miles north of Bogota, where authorities have been sifting through dirt in a cemetery since Monday, looking for bone fragments and other clues to help them identify victims.

Hernandez blamed the deaths on a paramilitary group that had long terrorized residents in this cattle ranching area near the Caribbean coast.

Mario Iguaran, Colombia's chief federal prosecutor, said last year that at least 2,500 victims of paramilitary violence are believed to be scattered in secret, mass graves throughout the country. Hundreds are thought to be buried at San Onofre.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/915/story/26424.html