Six ELN guerrillas killed in fighting on the Colombia-Venezuela border

At least six guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN) died on Tuesday in clashes with the Colombian Military Forces in the department of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela, Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velásquez reported.

The deaths occur at a time when there is a peace process between the government of President Gustavo Petro and the ELN and after having agreed to a ceasefire which should enter into force on August 3.

According to Velásquez, the Military Forces “have been holding confrontations” with the National Liberation Army” and the preliminary result is that “there are six members of that organization dead, four men, two women.” The minister informed journalists of the events in the middle of an act in the municipality of Dabeiba, in the department of Antioquia, in the north of the country.

The official added that the official troops also seized war material and assured that on Tuesday afternoon the operations continued in Arauquita, a municipality in the department of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela.

Regarding the ceasefire that was agreed between the Colombian government and the ELN guerrillas, the minister confirmed that it is not yet in force and that the provision is that the Military Forces “have to continue fulfilling their constitutional duty” and carry out offensive operations.

As agreed between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group, the cessation of offensive actions will begin its “full implementation” on August 3 and it will be for six months, in principle.

However, several analysts in Colombia have warned that this organization maintains open war fronts with other illegal armed groups, such as the dissidents of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the Clan del Golfo, which can manifest itself in confrontations in some areas of the country.

Before the clashes on Tuesday, the top leader of the ELN, Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, alias Antonio García, stated that “the plan of the extreme right together with the Military Forces to continue carrying out military operations against the ELN is in full development.”

“It is known that they will not comply with the orders to stop the military and intelligence actions,” he posted on his Twitter account. Hours after this message, the fighting took place.

The day before, the ELN released five officials from the mayor’s office of the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur, in the department of Bolívar, in the north of the country, who remained in the hands of the guerrilla group for 17 days.

The release of the hostages occurred in an act in which the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office and delegates of the Catholic Church participated.

According to the Ombudsman’s Office, the human rights situation of the five released was verified and they were sent to a health center, complying with the protocol established for these cases.

The Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Asis, reiterated the call to the illegal armed groups that operate in Colombia to understand the importance of “keeping the civilian population out of their actions” and “advancing in real gestures” that allow dialogue “with the current government and thus be able to achieve the peace that we all yearn for.”

According to local media, those released are workers of the municipality’s Ministry of Mobility. They were kidnapped by the ELN on June 9 after giving an educational talk in the vicinity of the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur.

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