On June 13, 2024, approximately 50 unidentified hooded individuals vandalized building facades and detonated explosive devices at the Santander Industrial University (UIS).

The group sprayed graffiti on campus buildings and threw potato bombs while reportedly protesting against university policies and demanding more student support. The incident occurred nearly seven months after an unidentified group stormed UIS and vandalized several buildings in protest of a proposed change in the university’s tuition policy (see report).

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent and destructive attacks on campus, apparently intended to prevent the functioning of a higher education institution. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.vanguardia.com/area-metropolitana/bucaramanga/2024/06/12/evacuan-la-uis-en-bucaramanga-debido-a-que-se-escucharon-detonaciones/
https://www.rcnradio.com/colombia/santanderes/encapuchados-generan-desordenes-en-la-universidad-industrial-de-santander
https://x.com/BLUSantanderes/status/1800935343371518234