Fighting in Colombia has displaced thousands of people. Many have fled to neighboring Venezuela. The Colombian government accuses the ELN rebel group of war crimes and has broken off talks with it.
In northern Colombia, thousands of people have fled due to violent clashes between rival paramilitary groups. The Catatumbo region in particular is affected by the fighting between the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) and a splinter group of the former FARC guerrillas. At least 80 people are said to have been killed.
The region is close to the border with Venezuela. According to estimates by the United Nations (UN), more than 1,000 Colombians have already fled to the neighboring country. In total, more than 18,000 people were displaced by the fighting. The Colombian military now estimates that around 20,000 people have had to leave their homes because of the violence.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern about the escalating violence, as his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric quoted him as saying. Guterres called for “an immediate cessation of acts of violence against the civilian population.”
President wants State of emergency exclaim
The rival groups are believed to be fighting for dominance in the cocaine trade. The Colombian government blames the ELN for the fighting and accuses it of committing war crimes. The rebel group reportedly attacked civilians whom it accused of collaborating with the FARC-EMC group. Accordingly, ELN fighters drove people out of their houses and shot them in the streets.
On Monday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he would declare a state of emergency due to the violence. This would enable him to pass laws without the consent of Parliament.
Peace talks terminated with ELN
The ELN is the strongest active rebel organization in Colombia and is said to be able to mobilize thousands of fighters. It is unclear exactly how many members the ELN has. At the end of last week, President Petro temporarily broke off the peace talks with the ELN that had been ongoing since 2022.
Petro also wants to achieve lasting peace with the splinter groups of the former FARC. But ceasefire agreements are repeatedly broken. The FARC rebel group agreed to a final ceasefire with the Colombian government in 2016 and then laid down arms. The former FARC guerrillas are now active as a political party under the name “Comunes”. However, several splinter groups rejected the peace agreement.
