The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has condemned the Colombian state for the Santo Domingo massacre in 1998 which left 17 people dead.
Local media have reported that the Human Rights court (Corte IDH) deemed that the Colombian Air Force went against human rights laws when it bombed the rural village of Tame, in the northeastern Colombian department of Arauca, killing 17 people and left 27 injured.
According to the court the actions on December 13, 1998, violated “the right to life” and the bombing was an act “contrary to international humanitarian law.”
The bombing took place during an armed conflict with FARC guerrillas which lasted several days. It was discovered that the Air Force had used cluster bombs, which are prohibited by international organizations, in pursuit of guerrillas who had disguised themselves as civilians.
Six children were killed in the bombing which at first was blamed on FARC, but later discovered to be the responsibility of the Colombian Air Force.
Air Force Captain Cesar Romero Padillo, and his co-pilot Lieutenant Johan Jimenez Valencia were both sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2009 for the murders and injuries of Santo Domingo residents.
