Colombia said it will maintain its offensive against the ELN, even though the rebels and the government recently agreed to begin peace talks.
The Colombian military will continue offensives targeting left-wing ELN rebels until a final peace is reached, said Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas, despite the fact that the rebels and the government agreed to formal peace negotiations earlier this week.
Wednesday, the Colombian government and the country's second largest guerrilla group the National Liberation Army, or ELN, announced a historic agreement to start formal peace negotiations, in an effort to end the over five decades of war in the country.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos compared the talks to the ongoing negotiations between the government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), saying that “the objective is the same, which is to eliminate violence.”
The government and the FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla force, are currently negotiating a bilateral ceasefire. The guerrilla group announced a unilateral ceasefire late last year while the government responded by ceasing air attacks.
However, according to Villegas, a similar deal with the ELN will not be negotiated any time soon as the army plans to maintain a strong offensive against the guerrillas.
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“The opening of public negotiations with the ELN, does not mean that the security forces will not always be on alert if the ELN commit a crime,” Villegas said Thursday.
“The commitment of the Armed Forces is to maintain the pressure and maintain a secure environment throughout the country,” the minister said.
The government and the ELN's agreement is a milestone in the peace process. It took more than two years of exploratory talks before for the two sides finally agreed to sit for a formal dialogue.
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