Twelve members of the Awá Indigenous community are reported to have been killed by armed men in camouflage on August 26, 2009 in El Rosario, Tumaco, in the southern border state of Nariño, Colombia. Eleven people were shot and killed, including four children and three teenagers, and three more were wounded. The massacre occurred after the killing of Gonzalo Rodríguez (Awá) , which occurred on August 23, allegedly by members of the Colombian Army. Reports suggest that the massacre may have been intended to eliminate and intimidate witnesses to that earlier killing. Rodríguez's wife, Tulia Garcia, was a witness to his murder, and she and her two toddlers were among those among the most adversely affected by the violence there, and the killed on August 26.
Nariño has some of the worst human rights violations in Colombia due to heavy presence of multiple armed groups and military forces in the area. The Awa, who live on the western Ecuador-Colombia border, have been harassed, displaced, and murdered by armed forces for decades. Indigenous Peoples are Colombian government has failed to adequately respond to multiple reports of abuses. According to Human Rights Watch and the Awá Indigenous Association (UNIPA), 38 members of the Awá have been killed so far this year. In March seven Awá community members' bodies were found in the municipality of Barbacoas. They are thought to be connected to the massacre of another 17 Awá, allegedly committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2009.
