Violence in northeast Colombia leaves 80 dead and thousands displaced

At least 80 people have died, 20 have been injured and thousands have been displaced in northeast Colombia, as fighting rages after the collapse of a truce between armed groups that are competing for possession of coca leaf plantations near the Venezuelan border.

Violence flared up last week in the Catatumbo region between fighters from the National Liberation Army (ELN) and former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group that disbanded in 2016 after signing a peace agreement with the Colombian government.

The fighting came as the country’s government announced on Friday that it was ending peace talks with the ELN, which it said had committed “war crimes” and had shown no desire for peace. It is the second time in less than a year that such negotiations have been suspended.

The victims of last week's killings are said to include the community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people attempting to negotiate a peace deal.

Colombia’s army scrambled to evacuate citizens on Sunday, said William Villamizar, the governor of North Santander, where many people have been killed.

“Catatumbo needs help,” he said on Saturday. “Boys, girls, young people, teenagers, entire families are showing up with nothing, riding trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can, on foot, to avoid being victims of this confrontation.”

Juan Gutiérrez fled the fighting with his family, ending up in temporary accommodation in Tibú. Their animals and possessions remain in the home they abandoned.

“We were caught in the crossfire. We had no time to grab our things,” Gutiérrez said. “I hope the government remembers us…We are helpless here,” he added.

Defence Minister Iván Velásquez, who visited the northeast town of Cúcuta on Sunday, urged the armed groups to stop fighting.

“The priority is to save lives and guarantee the security of communities,” he said. “We have deployed our troops throughout the entire region.”

The Colombian authorities are sending 10 tonnes of food and hygiene kits for 5,000 people to the northeast of the country.

While the government accused the ELN of crimes, the ELN laid the blame on ex-Farc guerrillas, claiming that if they “continued attacking the population … there was no other way out than armed confrontation.”

Under a policy known as “total peace”, Colombian President Gustavo Petro's government has spoken to the ELN and other armed groups.

Petro announced on Friday that government talks with the ELN had ended. “The dialogue process with this group is suspended, the ELN has no will for peace," he wrote on X.

The ELN, which was founded in the 1960s and has roughly 6,000 fighters in Colombia and Venezuela, funds itself through drug trafficking and illegal gold mines.