BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government said Tuesday it will end a cease-fire with the largest faction of the FARC-EMC, a rebel group that refused to sign a 2016 peace deal but ended the cease-fire war. involved in peace talks with the president Gustavo Petro‘s board until March.
In a press conference, Defense Minister Iván Velásquez said that the FARC-EMC has split into two factions. He said that ac easy fire with the smallest faction of the group is extended for three months while peace talks with the government continue.
The FARC-EMC was formed by fighters who refused to join a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. This agreement led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 rebels and their integration into civilian life.
The Colombian military estimates the group consists of more than 4,400 fighters operating in southwestern Colombia, the Amazon region and the Catatumbo region, along Colombia’s border with Venezuela.
The group’s two factions are led by commanders Iván Mordisco and Marcos Calaca. The Mordisco faction has been locked in fighting with the Colombian military since March, when the government suspended a regional ceasefire after fighters loyal to Mordisco attacked an indigenous community.
The Colombian government has announced that it will now launch military offensives against Mordisco’s fighters in other parts of the country.
The faction led by Marcos Calarca remains in talks with the government and will benefit from a three-month ceasefire that expires on October 15. The Colombian military said this faction comprises about 40% of EMC fighters.
Velasquez said the Calarca faction must stop attacks on community leaders and former FARC fighters to maintain the ceasefire.
The government of Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has peace talks started with most of the country’s remaining rebel groups under a policy known as total peace.
But while some crimes have declined, such as the killings of human rights activists, other security indicators have deteriorated as these groups fight over drug trafficking routes, illegal mines and territory.
Kidnappings rose nearly 50 percent last year, according to a report published Monday by the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a think tank that tracks violence in Colombia. Illegal roadblocks and gun battles also increased significantly in the first half of this year.
According to the group, FARC EMC fighters were present in 157 municipalities in Colombia a year ago, but are now active in 209 of the country’s 1,100 municipalities.
