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More than 80 people have been killed, and three officials kidnapped in northeast Colombia after failed peace talks with the National Liberation Army. The officials who were kidnapped were part of the peace talks. The attack comes after Colombia suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army.
Twenty others have been injured, according to William Villamizar, governor of North Santander, where many of the killings occurred. Among the victims are community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who sought to sign a peace deal.
According to the reports, the attacks took place in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela. Thousands of people are fleeing the area, with many taking refuge in the nearby lush mountains or seeking assistance at government shelters. Also Read | Corruption Scandal Adds to Pressure on Colombia’s Finance Minister
Colombia's army rescued dozens of people on Sunday, including a family and their pet dog, whose owner held a pack of cold water against the animal's chest to keep it cool as they evacuated via helicopter.
William Villamizar said, “Catatumbo needs help. Boys, girls, young people, teenagers, entire families are showing up with nothing, riding trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can, on foot, to avoid being victims of this confrontation.”
Colombia's government has demanded that the ELN cease all attacks and allow authorities to enter the region and provide humanitarian aid. Also Read | Scotiabank to Take $980 Million Charge on Colombia Unit Transfer
The ELN has been clashing in Catatumbo with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a guerrilla group that disbanded after signing a peace deal in 2016 with Colombia's government. The two are fighting over control of a strategic border region that has coca leaf plantations.
In a statement on Saturday, the ELN said it had warned former FARC members that if they “continued attacking the population...there was no other way out than armed confrontation”.
The ELN has accused ex-FARC rebels of several killings in the area, including the January 15 slaying of a couple and their 9-month-old baby.
(with agency inputs)
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