REBEL groups in Colombia have committed “grave abuses” against civilians as they fight for control of the resource-rich border region of Catatumbo Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday.

In a 12-page report, the rights NGO accused rebels of executing unarmed farmers and forcibly conscripting dozens of children. 

The group also called on Colombia’s government to speed up investigations into murders in the region, where at least 78 people were killed in January and February, after a truce ended between rebel groups in the area.