Venezuelan security forces operating against rebels at the Colombian border have “committed egregious abuses” of human rights against the local population, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. HRW alleges the execution of at least four peasants, torture of civilians suspected to be working with armed groups, arbitrary arrests, and prosecution of civilians in military courts.

Venezuelan security forces, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), clashed against the rebel Colombian armed group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in rural areas of Apure on March 21. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that at least 5,800 people have been forcibly displaced since then. Most of them have fled to Arauquita in Colombia as a result of egregious human rights abuses, frequent airstrikes, and fighting. They live in overcrowded shelters with insufficient humanitarian aid, and fear reprisals in Venezuela.

The report highlights a pattern similar to previous instances that had led to investigations into potential crimes against humanity in Venezuela. The Americas director of HRW, José Miguel Vivanco said:

The egregious abuses against Apure residents are not isolated incidents by rogue agents, but consistent with the Venezuelan security forces’ systematic practices…International inquiries are essential into the mounting evidence against security force members who have committed abuses, and against commanders and top-level officials who knew or should have known what was happening during these operations.

The report recommends that the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela promptly review these allegations of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, and gender-related crimes by FANB in Apure with a view towards analyzing the responsibility of those who ordered such abuses or failed to take appropriate steps to prevent the same.

It also demands that Colombian President Ivan Duque carry out a comprehensive census of the displaced Venezuelans and Colombians who were forced to flee the state of Apure and guarantee their access to legal status in Colombia. It asks that Duque ensure that those coming to Arauca are given access to basic humanitarian aid and that his administration effectively implements the “state of public calamity” in Arauquita so that the government can allocate more resources towards humanitarian efforts under the provisions of Law 1523 of 2012 (Ley 1523 de 2012).