At least 13 Colombian protesters killed during protest rally

At least 13 people were killed in the Colombian city of Cali, the epicenter of demonstrations across the country, and many of those deaths may have been linked to protests, Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

According to this report, the mayor of Cali lamented the incident, saying, "We still cannot say for sure whether all those killed were fully connected with the protesting groups or not."

Michel Bachelet also called for a transparent investigation into the case, saying that Colombian officials should be held accountable in the incident.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also issued a statement, calling on Colombian government to launch an independent inquiry into the killing of anti-government protesters in Cali.

Last Friday on April 28, tens of thousands of Colombians staged anti-government protests against the sudden rise in taxes.

Earlier, the Colombian government had said that the tax increase is intended to compensate the country's surplus costs during the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.

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