“Heavily armed” settlers attacked a native community and also kidnapped four people
Indigenous groups in Nicaragua have denounced the murder of at least seven native Mayangnas in the town of Wilú, in the north of the country, after armed groups burst into their homes with firearms.
Up to 60 “heavily armed” settlers carried out an attack on the community of Wilú over the weekend, taking advantage of the fact that the men had gone hunting, killing two women and five young men and kidnapping two men and two other children, as reported in a statement by the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI). In addition to the attacks on people, the armed groups set fire to almost all the houses in the town, leaving only the school, the church and a pastoral house standing, which has led many families to flee the town.
“This is the second time that the community of Wilú has been attacked by settlers without the authorities having protected them,” CALPI denounced in its letter, recalling that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in the first attack on the community of Wilú, although the Government of Nicaragua has not complied with them.
On previous occasions, the Mayangnas have denounced other attacks related to land invasions, assuring that the violence carried out by the settlers seeks to expel indigenous peoples from their ancestral homes and using their land for illegal logging and ranching.
Previously, the UN stressed that despite the fact that the Nicaraguan State adopted a law in 2003 to protect the rights of indigenous peoples over their lands -which represent 31 percent of the national territory- “they continue to face challenges and pressures due to to the recurring invasions of settlers”.