Colombian government, ELN guerrillas conclude 4th round of talks

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - A fourth round of talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group concluded on Monday in Venezuela with the announcement of an agreement on humanitarian aid for two conflict-hit areas.

Bajo Calima and San Juan in the eastern Cauca Valley were declared to be critical due to the confrontations between various armed groups and the security forces. The areas will benefit from "humanitarian actions" and "social development projects," according to a document produced by the delegations.

But shortly after the cycle culminated, the ELN continued with its attacks on the population in the municipality of Puerto Rondon near the Venezuelan border.

At least nine people were killed and another five injured, including an indigenous minor, amid clashes between members of a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissident group and ELN guerrillas, the governor of the province of Arauca, Willington Rodriguez, said Monday.

The event "is directly attributed to the organized armed group of the National Liberation Army,” which is meeting with government delegates in Caracas as part of a peace process, he added.

The territories where the clashes were reported are now under the control of the Colombian Army, and soldiers will remain in the area carrying out security tasks.

Rodriguez also urged the rebel groups to keep civilians out of the hostilities.

In Caracas, the head of the ELN delegation, Pablo Beltran, said the cease-fire that has been negotiated with the government is "under fire" and insisted that "there has been an intense media campaign" to "place obstacles to this process.”

According to a report by the Institute for Development and Peace Studies published Monday, the ELN guerrillas are said to have committed 16 cease-fire violations between Aug. 3 and Sept. 3, an average of one violation every two days.

Colombia’s Ombudsman's Office said in a statement that the fighting between the rebel groups "has the residents of the area immersed in an atmosphere of permanent fear and anxiety.”

"The Ombudsman's Office reiterates its call to the armed groups in the conflict to cease all actions that may affect the civilian population, to leave them out of the conflict and to show gestures of peace," the statement said.