Star Metro - 60 killed in Colombia guerilla violence

Rival groups have for years been fighting in the region over control of the cocaine trade.

Fighting in recent days pitted rebels from the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) -- the biggest of the armed groups still active in Colombia -- against dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The state signed a peace deal with FARC in 2016, after more than 50 years of war.

The ELN had also clashed with the Clan del Golfo, a right-wing paramilitary force turned trafficking gang which is the country's largest cocaine cartel.

"There is a very critical situation in this region of the country," military commander General Luis Emilio Cardozo said Saturday.

The "break" of a truce between the ELN and FARC dissidents has caused "significant impact on the civilian population," he said in a video published by the military on X.

"They have taken people from their homes and murdered them in a miserable way, violating all human rights of the people. It is up to us as the national army to stabilize the territory," Cardozo said, addressing hundreds of troops deployed in the region.

- Govt suspends peace talks -

After he was elected in 2022, President Gustavo Petro launched negotiations with the ELN and other armed groups that still control parts of Colombia on a promise to pursue "total peace."

But he paused the already-sputtering process with the ELN on Friday during the fresh wave of unrest, accusing the group of committing "war crimes."

Around 60 people have been killed across Catatumbo, Colombia's Ombudsman Office said late Saturday, while some residents were "taking refuge in the mountains" to escape the violence.

"Many people, including peace signatories, social leaders and their families, and even children, face a special risk of being kidnapped or killed," the office said.

Affected communities were also beginning to suffer from food shortages, the office said, calling on the armed groups to allow access to humanitarian assistance and cease all attacks against civilians.

For its part, the ELN pointed the finger at the FARC dissidents.

"The Catatumbo region knows well that we had warned that if the 33rd Front of the ex-FARC continued attacking the population and failing to comply with commitments, there was no other way out than armed confrontation," it said in a statement published on X.

- 'We are very afraid' -

With a force of about 5,800 combatants, the ELN is one of the biggest armed groups still active in Colombia.

While claiming to be driven by leftist and nationalist ideology, the ELN is deeply involved in the drug trade and has become one of the region's most powerful organized crime groups.

Talks with the ELN broke down for several months last year after the group launched a deadly attack on a military base.

Following the latest round of fighting, the president said the ELN "shows no willingness to make peace" in a post on X.

More than 2,500 people have fled the violence to Tibu, the town's mayor Richar Claro said Saturday.

Temporary shelters were opened around Tibu to house displaced people, who arrived in flat-bed trucks or cramped on motorbikes, with some carrying household belongings on their backs.

"We are very afraid for the children and that we will be caught in the middle of the conflict," Carmelina Perez, 62, who had escaped with her grandchildren, told AFP.

Across the border, Venezuela announced the launch of "a special operation to assist the civilian population displaced from Colombia," according to a government statement.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil told state television that "hundreds of families" have been forced to take refuge in Venezuela.

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D.Ch. Nadeau--SMC