This site, set up in coordination with the Special Programs Fund for Peace, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Pan American Health Organization, has the capacity to house up to 1,000 people in more than 250 tents donated by the Home Ministry.

According to the agency, the enclave located in Ocaña’s Plaza de Ferias, has an area with toilets and showers differentiated for women, men and minors, and has laundry rooms, clotheslines, communal kitchen and dining room, as well as a special area for the accommodation of pets.

The relief agency also mentioned that in the 2,000 square meter housing area, the temporary inhabitants will be able to receive advice from the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Red Cross, the Civil Defense, the Departmental Health Secretariat and international humanitarian organizations.

One month of violence in the Catatumbo region, in northeastern Colombia, has a toll of about 55,000 displaced persons, almost 30,000 confined and dozens of deaths, according to official figures.

Since January 16, when the National Liberation Army (ELN) began fighting against the 33rd Front, a residual group of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army, thousands of families have been forced to seek refuge in nearby urban capitals.

About 25,000 people chose to settle in the city of Cúcuta, the capital of the department of North Santander, followed by Tibú, with about 15,000, and Ocaña, where more than 10,000 are being served, according to recent data.

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