Since last Sunday, the Colombian Attorney General's Office has acknowledged that 27 bodies have been discovered in rural parts of Arauca where armed factions have clashed.

“The 27 bodies are at the headquarters of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. At this moment, necropsies are being carried out with the utmost celerity,” said the Attorney General of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa.

Experts have identified 20 people so far, including two women, two juveniles, and four Venezuelan citizens, according to him.

The bodies were discovered in Fortul, Saravena, and Arauquita, all in the Arauca department, as well as in Cubará, Boyacá.

Preliminary investigations reveal that all of the victims were shot at close range in the course of hired assassinations, indicating that no combat took place.

According to reports, ex-guerrillas of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who abandoned the peace process and members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) have been battling in many municipalities of Arauca since the 2nd of last month over a territorial dispute.

More than 600 soldiers arrived in the department yesterday to beef up security in Puerto Nario, La Esmeralda, Aguachica, La Paz, and El Botalón.

Two battalions arrived by air and land with armored vehicles, following an order given by President Iván Duque in response to recent skirmishes between armed groups in the territory bordering Venezuela.