Nov 18, Kathmandu - Colombian authorities have confirmed the deaths of 15 kidnapped children during a military operation targeting guerrilla fighters launched by the Colombian army since August. The minors, who were forcibly abducted by the armed group, were reportedly shot dead during the military operation.

President Gustavo Petro announced initial reports that five children had been killed in two recent military bombings. Colombia's human rights ombudsman's office has confirmed that the number has risen to seven. The children's ages have not been released.

Meanwhile, Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences released details on Monday of the deaths of three minors in a military attack in the south-central department of Guayaquil on August 24.

President Petro said on social media that "all the minors were forcibly recruited by criminal groups, which pushed them directly into the arena of hostility and war," after the military and prosecutors announced they had launched a joint investigation into the attack on October 10 that killed 19 guerrilla members and seven children.

The United Nations human rights office in Colombia has expressed "deep concern" over the deaths of minors, stressing that the military and security forces must take all possible measures to protect the kidnapped children. According to reports, an average of one minor is kidnapped by guerrilla groups in Colombia every two days and trained as a fighter.

President Petro said the attack was ordered to save the lives of soldiers. He expressed deep condolences for the “tragic loss” of the children and apologized to the mothers, saying “I carry this pain on my conscience.”

But he rejected a request from the Ombudsman’s Office to halt military operations targeting dissident FARC groups that have been reactivated after refusing to disarm following a 2016 peace deal.

According to prosecutors, more than 1,100 children were abducted by various armed groups between 2019 and 2023. The number had risen to 23,800 between 1996 and 2016, underscoring the seriousness of the decades-long violence and child rights crisis in Colombia.