A/HRC/10/32 page 8 Attorney-General’s National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit in 2008. This Unit is currently investigating nearly 716 cases related to over 1,100 victims. These figures confirm that extrajudicial executions are not isolated events, but a widespread practice committed by a large number of military units throughout the country. According to information obtained by OHCHR Colombia, in some locations such as Antioquia, the number of cases increased in 2008. 13. In addition to the trends described in previous reports,10 the emergence this year of new modalities of extrajudicial execution suggests greater complexity and sophistication in planning and carrying out this crime. OHCHR Colombia was able to confirm the existence of gangs pretending to offer victims employment away from their home towns, and providing transport to other towns, where they were executed and reported as “killed in action”. According to a number of investigations, other gang members (possibly including members of the army) allegedly report those killed as members of guerrilla groups or of one of the illegal armed groups that have emerged since the paramilitary demobilization, and prepared intelligence reports to substantiate such affiliations. In addition, victims are frequently reported as “unidentified”, even if they were carrying identity documents, or their identity was known. This practice seems intended to avoid the identification of persons reported missing and to hamper investigations. 14. The absence of effective control by army commanders might have created fertile ground for this very serious violation of human rights. Financial incentives, additional days of leave and recognition given without proper control of those who presented these “deaths in combat”, might have also encouraged the establishment and continuation of this disturbing practice. At the same time, the lack of any clear message from the army itself rejecting such a practice could have permitted such violations to persist. 15. Further action and closer collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Attorney-General’s Office are needed to eradicate and punish extrajudicial executions. The Procurator-General and the Attorney-General should step up their efforts to investigate cases in the shortest possible time. B. Illegal and arbitrary detention 16. In some departments, such as Arauca and Norte de Santander, the Attorney-General’s Office continued to issue arrest warrants without sound legal grounds, for rebellion and related offences, which led to arbitrary detentions. These orders were often based on information provided by former members of guerrilla groups. Since the State gives them incentives and benefits to cooperate, the information obtained is not always credible. The Attorney-General’s Support Office with the army’s 18th Brigade in Arauca ordered at least four mass arrests on this basis. 17. The victims of violations of this kind, including human rights defenders and community leaders, are usually held without proper legal justification, in some cases for up to two years. In addition, in Antioquia and Chocó departments, for example, several cases of illegal detention 10 See A/HCR/7/39 and Corr.1 of 2008 and A/HCR/4/48 of 2007.