E/CN.4/1995/111 page 19 areas where there is armed insurgency as supporters or even members of guerrilla groups and thus as the enemy. Many reports of human rights violations by the military brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur refer to the killing of unarmed civilians, either in indiscriminate operations against civilian settlements or in isolated incidents which do not involve armed confrontation. The Special Rapporteur was informed by the civilian authorities in Arauca that guerrillas captured by the security forces or those who surrender voluntarily to them - sometimes reportedly for fear of ajusticiamiento on the part of the insurgents - are used by the military as so-called "agentes de control" for intelligence operations and for the extrajudicial killing of persons implicated with the guerrillas. In many cases, civilian victims of extrajudicial executions are presented to the public as guerrillas killed in combat. The principal victims of such acts are said to be peasants and members of civic associations, particularly trade unions, which are perceived as infiltrated by the insurgents. The Special Rapporteur received numerous accounts of violations of the right to life, including extrajudicial executions and death threats, by members of the security forces against leaders and members of such associations, particularly the teachers’ union Asociación de Educadores de Arauca (ASEDAR) (Association of Teachers of Arauca). Cases of forced disappearance and torture, including the rape of women, by members of the security forces were also brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur. 59. One of the most salient recent cases of human rights violations by members of the security forces was the killing of 10 civilians, mostly fishermen, from the village of Puerto Lleras by soldiers from the Artillery Group No. 19 Revéiz Pizarro of the Colombian Army on 3 January 1994. The massacre was said to have been carried out in reprisal for a guerrilla attack against a military base earlier on the same day, in which three soldiers had died. On 4 January 1994, the armed forces issued a press release informing the public that an armed confrontation had taken place which had led to the death of various persons. However, an investigation by the Procuradoría General de la Nación led to the initiation of judicial proceedings against six officials and three soldiers before Military Penal Court No. 124 in Saravena. To date, no sanction, either disciplinary or penal, is known to have been imposed. 60. During 1993, a paramilitary group emerged in the region of Saravena under the name of "Autodefensas del Sarare". As its members operate using hoods to conceal their faces, it has come to be widely known as "Los Encapuchados". According to the military commanders of the region, they are a self-defence group established by peasants to counter pressure from the insurgents. However, inhabitants of the area told the Special Rapporteur that the "Encapuchados" were actually members of the military. Reportedly, on one occasion when they detained civilians, eye witnesses identified one of them as an official of Artillery Group No. 19 Revéiz Pizarro and two others as civilians, guerrilla ex-combatants who were working with the military in intelligence operations. A few days later, the official recognized by the witnesses was found dead in the barracks, apparently having committed suicide. During his meeting with the military authorities of the department the Special Rapporteur was told by the commander of the Revéiz Pizarro battalion that the "Encapuchados" were a self-defence group and the allegations