Colombian indigenous people suffer "unseen tragedy": UN
The United Nations said on Friday that Colombian indigenous people are suffering an "unseen tragedy "because of armed conflicts in the country, with about 19,000 of them displaced and millions affected this year.

Jennifer Pagonis, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the figures come from the National Organization of Colombian Indigenous People (ONIC) which represents many indigenous communities.

She said at least 80 Colombian ethnicities were at risk and that in the Nasa community alone 14,000 people had to abandon their homes to escape violence between government forces, left-wing guerillas and right-wing paramilitaries.

Pagonis said that in October hundreds of Quechuas had to abandon the southeastern region of Putamayo and take refuge in Ecuador, while in northeastern Choco, "hundreds of Emberas are in constant danger of losing their homes."

The territories where indigenous people live are remote and considered strategic by armed groups who have a strong presence in those areas, the spokeswoman said.

The UNHCR said, "Entire communities of indigenous people could disappear after being forced to abandon their traditional homelands."

It emphasized that attacks on the human rights of indigenous people are rarely punished. According to ONIC, 60 percent of all the 1,600 murders of indigenous people have taken place in the five years since 2000.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who is currently seeking reelection, has not yet commented on the UN statement.