Colombia scrambles to cope as refugees flee deadly battles between rebel groups

Officials describe ‘tsunami of people’ in city of Cúcuta escaping one of worst outbreaks of violence in recent years

Authorities in the Colombian border city of Cúcuta are scrambling to cope with an influx of internal refugees, as thousands of civilians flee an outbreak of fighting between rival rebel factions.

Buses, trailers and dump trucks packed with disoriented mothers and children have been streaming into the border city since Friday when the bloody conflict began engulfing north-eastern Colombia.

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