Bojayá massacre

The Bojayá massacre (Spanish: La Masacre de Bojayá) was a massacre that occurred on May 2, 2002 in the town of Bellavista, Bojayá Municipality, Chocó Department, Colombia. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas attacked the town in an attempt to take control of the Atrato River region from United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries. During the fighting, a gas cylinder bomb (known in Spanish as a pipeta or cilindro bomba) launched at the AUC paramilitaries positioned by the walls of a church from a FARC mortar went through the roof of the church instead, landing on the altar inside and detonating. 119 civilians died in the attack; approximately 300 inhabitants of the town had taken refuge in the church, and 79 died in the explosion.