COLOMBIA’S government and the country’s last recognised guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), said yesterday they had agreed to begin negotiating a ceasefire, as the two sides wrapped up a second round of peace talks in Mexico.

The goal is to reach a ceasefire pact based on international humanitarian law, according to an agreement read by a government delegate in the presence of both parties.

Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

The Colombian government resumed peace talks with the ELN after Gustavo Petro became the South American country’s first ever left-wing president in August.

The talks had been suspended by his conservative predecessor Ivan Duque following a car bomb attack on a police academy in Bogota that left 22 people dead.

The next round of talks is due to be held in Cuba, though a date has not yet been announced. – AFP, March 11, 2023.