Colombian government suspends talks with left-wing rebels after clashes

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that helium was suspending bid negotiations with National Liberation Army guerrillas aft a time of unit betwixt equipped groups successful the northeast that near astatine slightest 30 radical dead.

The unit took spot successful the Catatumbo region, connected the borderline with Venezuela, wherever rival groups person for years been warring for power of the cocaine trade.

The latest warring pitted rebels from the left-wing National Liberation Army, oregon ELN — the biggest of the equipped groups inactive progressive successful Colombia — against dissidents from the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, oregon FARC, which signed a bid woody with the authorities successful 2016 aft much than 50 years of war.

Petro accused the ELN of committing "war crimes," and said connected a societal network, "That is wherefore we are suspending dialog with this group, due to the fact that the ELN shows nary willingness to marque peace."

Colombia's archetypal left-wing president, Petro launched negotiations with the assorted equipped groups that inactive power parts of Colombia aft being elected successful 2022 connected a committedness to prosecute "total peace."

The talks with the ELN broke down for respective months past twelvemonth aft the radical launched a deadly onslaught connected a subject base.

William Villamizar, politician of North Santander department, told Blu Radio the latest clashes betwixt the ELN and FARC dissidents erupted connected Thursday.

"Data from the tract indicates astatine slightest 30 radical killed and much than 20 injured," helium said, blaming the clashes connected a "territorial dispute" linked to the cocaine trade.

Colombian ombudsman Iris Marin told Blu Radio that ELN members were attacking civilians, going "house to house" successful the country astir the municipality of Tibu successful hunt of radical it believed to beryllium related to the FARC dissidents.

She said preliminary reports indicated that "dozens" of families had been displaced and much than 20 radical were missing.

On Thursday, the United Nations reported that 5 erstwhile FARC combatants had been killed.

The woody with FARC aimed astatine ending the longest-running warfare successful the Americas, involving leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, cause gangs and the military.

But holdout FARC splinter groups and the ELN refused to marque peace.

In November the authorities and ELN agreed astatine talks successful Venezuela to resume the bid process, but the subject and the rebels person continued to commercialized fire.

Experts said the cocaine commercialized is astatine the bosom of the unrest.

Tibu, country of this week's fighting, lies successful 1 of the country's biggest areas for the accumulation of coca — the main constituent successful cocaine, of which Colombia is the world's starring producer.