massacre of El Mozote and nearby places (supra paras. 20 and 38). For their part, the updated lists presented by the representatives with their final arguments indicate a total of 1,061 presumed victims who were executed. The Court has been able to verify, in application of the previously mentioned criteria (supra para. 57), that 440 people were executed by the Salvadoran Armed Forces, a figure that, owing to the circumstances of the case, may change with the implementation of the “Single List of Victims and Next of Kin of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations during the Massacre of El Mozote” (infra paras. 309 and 310). However, the Court places on record that it has evidence to conclude that the number of victims is much greater even though there is insufficient evidence to identify them adequately in these proceedings before it. 158. In the case of the massacre of the village of El Mozote, there is evidence of additional violations, because the facts reveal that the people were detained, illegally and arbitrarily, in the control of the Armed Forces, impeding any possibility that the safeguards for personal liberty established in Article 7 of the American Convention could be brought to bear in their favor. The Court emphasizes that the collective executions did not occur immediately after the detention of the inhabitants and other individuals who had gathered in the village, but during approximately 12 to 24 hours these people were intentionally subjected to intense suffering, by being threatened and intimidated, maintained locked up and guarded for hours, and in these circumstances, interrogated about the presence of members of the guerrilla in the area, without knowing what their final fate would be (supra paras. 89 to 94). The Court notes that the facts of this case reveal that this series of acts caused extreme suffering, in addition to the uncertainty of what could happen to them and the profound fear that they could be deprived of their life violently and arbitrarily, as indeed happened, as revealed by the statement of Rufina Amaya, who managed to hide and avoid being executed. 159. The testimony of Rufina Amaya also refers to the cruelty with which the security forces acted, when she recounted that she: “saw that the soldiers had blindfolded all the men, tied their feet and tied their hands behind them, inside the chapel, the doors of which were open; all the men were lying face down on the ground, and [she] also saw the soldiers stood on them and pulled their heads backwards; then the men screamed in pain; afterwards [she] saw that they were lifted off the ground and one by one their heads were cut off, then their bodies and heads were dragged to the convent, where they left the dead in a pile, but as some of the men tried to escape, they were machine-gunned down.”200 160. The testimony of Rufina Amaya also reveals that the men and adolescents were executed first, then the women and, finally, the youngest children (supra paras. 92 and 94). The fact that the women were taken from the places where they had been held deprived of liberty, leaving their children alone, may have caused the children to feel loss, abandonment, intense fear, uncertainty, anguish and pain, which may have varied and intensified depending on the age and the particular circumstances.201 200 Sworn statement made by Rufina Amaya Vda. de Márquez before the Oficina de Tutela Legal del Arzobispado on October 10, 1990 (evidence file, tome II, annex 20 to the submission of the case, folio 1575). See also, Witness statement made by Rufina Amaya before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on October 30, 1990 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folios 1660to 1665). 201 “Each child reacts differently to the impact of armed conflict. Their response depends on their age, gender, personality type, personal and family history, cultural background and experience, as well as on the nature and duration of the event.” United Nations, The Machel Review 1996-2000, A Critical Analysis of Progress Made and Obstacles Encountered in Increasing Protection for War-affected Children, A/55/749, 26 January 2001, p. 28. For example, the different circumstances that can influence the psychosocial impact of violence on children, “include individual factors such as age, sex, personality type, personal and family history and cultural background. Other factors will be linked to the nature of the traumatic events, including their frequency and the length of the exposure. Children who suffer from stress display a wide range of symptoms, including increased separation anxiety and developmental delays, sleep disturbances and nightmares, lack of appetite, withdrawn behaviour, lack of interest in play, and, in younger children, learning difficulties. In older children and adolescents, responses to stress can include anxious or aggressive behavior and depression.” United Nations, Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, Report of the expert of the Secretary-General, Ms. Graça Machel, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/157, A/51/306, 26 August 1996, para. 168. Similarly, in the context of fleeing during armed conflicts, “[a]though the decision to leave is normally taken by adults, 50