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The United Nations urged Venezuela yesterday to prevent human rights abuses of Colombians being deported from the country, including the separation of children from their parents, in a simmering border crisis between the two neighbours.

Venezuela closed several major border crossings and deported nearly 1,500 Colombians last month in what it says is a crackdown on smuggling and crime along the shared border.

Fearing deportation, another 15,255 Colom-bians have fled their adopted homeland to Colombia in recent weeks, many crossing rivers and bridges with their belongings on their backs, according to Colombian government figures.