<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Thousands of Colombians are gathering in plazas across the country to demand an end to a wave of killings of activists that is threatening the fragile peace process. </div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">According to authorities, 311 rural activists and human rights defenders have been killed since 2016. In the same year a peace deal was signed with leftist rebels.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The protest comes a little more than two weeks after the presidential election victory by conservative Ivan Duque, who has criticized aspects of the accord.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The gatherings came in the wake of the killing of a campaign coordinator for Duque's leftist rival in the polarizing race. Ana Maria Cortes was shot dead by an unidentified attacker at a coffee shop in the town of Caceres on Tuesday.</div>''<div class="yj6qo" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>