Colombia: ELN announces bilateral ceasefire with government

The National Liberation Army (ELN) took up arms in 1964 and is the last active insurgency group in Colombia.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) has announced a temporary and bilateral ceasefire with the Colombian government.

The group said the ceasefire, agreed to in September during peace talks in Quito, Ecuador, will be implemented from October 1 to January 9, 2018.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the ceasefire was “an extremely important step forward, a step that we hope will be the first step toward a process that will also lead to the ELN disarming as the FARC have done.”

The ELN took up arms in 1964 and is the last active insurgency group in Colombia.

[Abridged from TeleSUR English.]

Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.