Truce will final from Saturday to January 2, leftist rebels say, as peace talks with Bogota to renew subsequent month.
Colombia’s largest remaining insurgent group has introduced a unilateral ceasefire over the end-of-year vacation interval, every week after the Nationwide Liberation Military (ELN) and the Colombian authorities concluded a primary spherical of peace negotiations.
An ELN spokesperson stated in a video shared on social media on Monday that the ceasefire would final from 6am (11:00 GMT) on Saturday, which is Christmas Eve, to the identical time on January 2.
The ceasefire solely covers the “navy forces and the state police” stated the spokesperson, saying ELN fighters reserve the proper to defend themselves if they're attacked.
The United Nations particular consultant to Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, welcomed the announcement, saying on Twitter that he trusts the ceasefire will assist “alleviate struggling and enhance the humanitarian scenario”.
Representatives of the leftist insurgent group and the federal government started peace talks in neighbouring Venezuela final month in an effort to finish a decades-long battle that has killed greater than 450,000 individuals.
The South American nation has seen an uptick in violence lately, particularly in areas the place armed teams are battling for management over drug trafficking routes and different illicit actions.
The talks have been held after Gustavo Petro – Colombia’s first left-wing president, who took workplace in August – had promised to pursue a “complete peace” plan for the nation, together with holding talks with armed teams.
Petro’s right-wing predecessor, Ivan Duque, broke off negotiations with the ELN, a bunch that's believed to have about 4,000 fighters in Colombia and neighbouring Venezuela, in 2019 after a automobile bombing killed 22 police cadets.
Whereas a proper ceasefire was not reached within the first spherical of talks between Bogota and the ELN, the 2 sides promised on December 12 to “implement a partial settlement for emergency care” to start in January in a number of areas worst hit by violence.
Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez stated there had been a “noticeable drop in operations” by the ELN for the reason that peace talks resumed.
The talks additionally led to an settlement this month to permit displaced Indigenous Embera individuals to return to their houses in western Colombia, which they fled as a result of elevated assaults and insecurity.
Mexico, which has agreed to be an official guarantor of the ELN-Colombia talks, will maintain the following spherical of negotiations beginning subsequent month.
Pablo Beltran, the insurgent group’s chief negotiator, stated final week that he hoped a ceasefire may very well be agreed upon through the subsequent spherical.
Norway congratulates #Colombia’s authorities and the Nationwide Liberation Military ELN on the essential progress within the first spherical of formal peace talks.
Depend on Norway’s continued help as a guarantor nation within the work that lies forward, for peace for all Colombians. pic.twitter.com/bHkiPQGiGj— Norway MFA (@NorwayMFA) December 12, 2022
Post a Comment