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full screen A truck said to have been used in an attack on a military base on Tuesday. Picture from the Colombian Army. Photo: Picture From Colombia’s Army Via AFP/TT
Colombia has suspended all peace talks with the ELN rebel group after a deadly attack on a military base on Tuesday.
Two soldiers were killed and nearly 39 injured when a truck with explosives detonated at the base, located in eastern Arauca near the border with Venezuela.
The government has accused the ELN of the act and announced that the peace talks can only be resumed if the group shows “an unequivocal demonstration of its desire for peace”.
The ELN has intensified attacks on military targets since August, when the 2023 ceasefire was not renewed.
The group is the largest of the armed guerrillas still active in Colombia, since the government signed an agreement with the Farc that disarmed it in 2017.
Colombia’s military intelligence service estimates that the ELN has about 5,800 members.