El Aro Massacre
| El Aro massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | municipality of Ituango, Antioquia Colombia |
| Date | 22 October 1997 |
| Target | Civilians / presumed guerrillas |
Attack type | Shooting, mass murder, massacre, crime against humanity, war rape |
| Weapons | small arms |
| Deaths | 15 |
| Perpetrators | AUC |
The El Aro massacre (Spanish: Masacre del Aro) was a massacre in Colombia which occurred on October 22, 1997, in the municipality of Ituango, Department of Antioquia. 15 individuals accused of being leftist supporters of FARC were massacred by paramilitary groups. Perpetrators also raped women, burned down 43 houses, stole cattle and forcibly displaced 900 people.
In 2007, the Third Section of the Council of State ordered the Colombian state to pay damages to the victims' families.
On May 31, 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia declared El Aro Massacre as a crime against humanity.