On Sunday, defense minister Ivan Velasquez revealed that the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas are focusing their attacks on community leaders and former members of a different rebel faction in the northeastern Catatumbo region, as local authorities reported that the violence has resulted in 80 fatalities.
This conflict – the deadliest in recent times – prompted President Gustavo Petro to accuse the ELN of engaging in a war crime and to halt peace negotiations with the group last week.
According to Velasquez, the ELN has initiated a campaign against ex-members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who disarmed following a 2016 peace agreement, their families, and some local leaders, speaking from the eastern city of Cucuta.
Colombian rebel factions have traditionally clashed with the government, right-wing paramilitary groups, and with each other for dominance over territory and illicit revenue streams such as drug trafficking. Armed organizations often pursue civilians who resist their operations.
Velasquez stated that 8,000 individuals had been forced to flee due to the conflict. While he reported a death toll of 60, the governor’s office in Norte de Santander province and the human rights ombudsman indicated that the number was actually 80.
In a statement on Sunday, the ELN claimed that the demobilized FARC rebels had taken up arms again and argued that the victims were not civilians.