The children being lured to fight on TikTok

Fighters belonging to breakaway groups associated with Colombia’s largest rebel movement are posting videos on TikTok to entice young people to join them.

The BBC has investigated the growth of guerrilla “recruitment” videos, with dissident factions yet to agree to a peace deal with the Colombian government.

“One or two start the trend and it becomes fashionable in the classroom,” says Lorena (not her real name), a 30-year-old teacher in Cauca, a rural region in south-western Colombia.

She says as she enters her class, she is often met by students filming themselves on their smartphones, drawing symbols inspired by the now-demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group (Farc) on the blackboard, or dancing to revolutionary tunes.

Lorena, who asked to remain anonymous for her own security, says this kind of pro-guerrilla behaviour has become increasingly common among pupils.

“It used to be more secretive… [but] it has become completely normalised,” she said in an interview with the BBC over Zoom.

“Sadly, it’s one or two [students] that start to see the clips [on Tiktok] in one classroom – and then it becomes trendy.”

She said students then often disappear, and the next time she sees them they are appearing in TikTok videos – armed and dressed as fighters.

In Cauca, children and adults alike have grown up alongside the Farc, which has had a strong presence in the region since the leftist armed group was created in 1964.

The group, which had over 20,000 members at its height, officially demobilised and signed a peace agreement with the government in 2016.

Yet some dissident factions have yet to lay down their weapons, and some of the most powerful of those armed units are currently active in Cauca.

These Farc factions have joined forces to form a larger umbrella group, dubbed the Estado Mayor Central (EMC).

Authorities estimate the EMC has more than 3,000 members.

So far, attempts to negotiate with these diverse factions by the current left-wing government, led by President Gustavo Petro, have faltered.

The factions continue to operate, reportedly financing themselves through drug-trafficking and maintaining control of many rural territories.

Officials say the dissident groups continue to swell their ranks, with younger people among those being targeted for…