The death toll from attacks by ELN rebels in Colombia has risen to 60 in the country's Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, the Ombudsman's Office reported Saturday, reports AFP.
Rival groups have for years been fighting in the region over control of the cocaine trade.
The latest fighting pitted rebels from the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) -- the biggest of the armed groups still active in Colombia -- against FARC dissidents, who signed a peace deal with the state in 2016 after more than 50 years of war.
"Around 60 people have died violently" in several municipalities across Catatumbo, Colombia's Ombudsman Office said Saturday night on social media platform X.
The office had previously reported 40 dead.
President Gustavo Petro had paused already-sputtering peace negotiations with the ELN on Friday during the fresh wave of unrest.
The country's first left-wing president, Petro launched negotiations with the various armed groups that still control parts of Colombia after being elected in 2022 on a promise to pursue "total peace."
The talks with the ELN broke down for several months last year after the group launched a deadly attack on a military base.
Accusing the ELN of committing "war crimes," Petro said on X "that is why we are suspending dialogue with this group, because the ELN shows no willingness to make peace."
On Saturday, the government announced it had reinforced its military offensive in the Catatumbo area.
"At this moment, there is a very critical situation in this region of the country," army commander General Luis Emilio Cardozo told deployed troops.
The offensive broke a truce between the two guerrilla groups -- ELN and dissidents of FARC -- who until then were conducting parallel peace negotiations with Petro's government.
There was a "break" of the alliance which "has generated a very significant impact on the civilian population," the general said, according to a video released by the army on X.
"They have taken people from their homes and murdered them in a miserable way, violating all human rights of the people. It is up to us as the national Army to stabilize the territory," Cardozo said.
More than 2,500 people had fled to the town of Tibu, it's mayor, Richar Claro, said Saturday.
The thousands-strong ELN is one of the biggest armed groups still active in Colombia.
While claiming to be driven by leftist and nationalist ideology, the group is deeply involved in the drug trade and has become one of the region's most powerful organized crime groups.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
