COLOMBIA: Government Reiterates Willingness To Keep Talking With ELN

(RTTNews) - The Colombian High Commissioner for Peace, Rodrigo Rivera, said that the government was willing to keep on talking with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, and that both parties must demonstrate "the same will."

"If over the months, they do not want to honor this commitment because they do not have the same will for peace, there is no way to move forward. Words are honored with deeds," the official said during the reactivation of the Territorial Council of Peace, Reconciliation, and Coexistence in Arauca.

Earlier this week, the ELN guerrilla group announced that its military actions would continue until a new ceasefire with the Colombian government is agreed.

The ELN warning came after the Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, decided to suspend the fifth round of negotiations with the ELN. Over the weekend, attacks claimed by the group left five police officers dead and 47 injured in Barranquilla.

The guerrillas claimed that before the end of the ceasefire, on January 9, the Colombian Army had been expanding its presence and taking military advantage in several of the regions where the ELN is active. According to the group, the Army has now increased the persecution and attacks against its units in all cities and areas.