A 14-year-old environmental activist has been shot dead in the Latin American country of Colombia.
According to the AFP news agency, Brenner David was one of two people killed during a patrol in a rural area.
The Gauka Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC) says a local community group called NASA encountered gunmen during a patrol, who opened fire, killing a guard and young Brenner David.Brenner David, a 14-year-old environmentalist, was known as the "mother earth protector."
According to CRIC, two persons were also injured in the attack.
Another indigenous community, the ACIN, has blamed the attack on the FARC rebel group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal. The peace deal ended Colombia's nearly 60-year conflict.
According to ACIN, two armed men have been arrested.
Colombian President Evan Doc tweeted condolences over the death of Brenner David, tweeting that the young man was an environmental activist in his Gauka community.
Colombia's human rights ombudsman said on Monday that 145 community leaders and rights activists had been killed in 2021. They include 32 representatives of the indigenous community, as well as advocates for the rural and agricultural communities, and seven trade union members.
Despite the peace agreement, violence in Colombia has escalated in recent months, mainly due to the war for territory and resources between the FARC guerrilla group, the ELN rebel group, paramilitary forces and drug cartels.
Colombia has been named the most dangerous country for social workers by the human rights organization Global Witness. In 2020, 65 environmental workers were killed in Colombia.
President Evan Doc's government blames drug traffickers for the killings in the country. Colombia is the largest producer of the drug cocaine.
According to IndiePaz, a Colombian think tank, two environmental activists, including Brenner David, have been killed this year, compared to 1,288 since the peace deal in 2016.
