Dhe government in Colombia has agreed on a six-month ceasefire with several armed groups. They include the ELN guerrillas, the FARC dissidents and several drug gangs. A “bilateral ceasefire” from January 1 to June 30 of this year was agreed with the rebel organization ELN, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) and two other groups, President Gustavo Petro said on Twitter. These are the five main armed groups in Colombia.
“This is a courageous act,” wrote Colombia’s first left-wing president. “The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to comply with it. There will be a national and international review mechanism.”
The government announced that it would issue a decree for each of the organizations, specifying the duration and terms of the ceasefire. An extension beyond June 30 is possible.
Petro was a member of the M-19 guerrilla movement. During his inaugural speech as president in August, he announced that he would lead the divided country to unite and “total peace”. In 2016, after years of fighting against the Colombian government, the left-wing FARC had already concluded a peace agreement with the country and the arms In 2019, however, a small faction of the FARC announced rearmament because the agreement with the government was said to have been broken.
At least 450,000 people were killed in fighting between government troops, left-wing rebel groups, right-wing militias and drug cartels in Colombia between 1985 and 2018.
