Colombian conflict

BOGOTÁ, Colombia - Seven people were killed during two ambushes at the western and eastern edges of the Colombian jungle and the government has blamed the Army of National Liberation (ELN) while the rebels have placed the blame on right-wing paramilitary unit operating in the areas as the two sides attempt peace talks.

QUITO, Ecuador - With the help of neighbor and host Ecuador, Colombia's government has finally entered into peace talks with the nation's second-largest rebel group, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) or the Army of National Liberation, in Quito.

The Colombian government has opened the first round of peace talks with the ELN rebel group, seeking to end a 53-year conflict that has killed more than 260,000.

BOGOTÁ, Colombia - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said his government will enter into negotiations for an eventual peace agreement with the nation's second-largest rebel group, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) or the Army of National Liberation, on February 7, just months after the peace agreement signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was ratified.

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BOGOTÁ, Colombia - General Mario Montoya Uribe, the lifelong military man and former Commander of the Colombian National Army, knew of the extrajudicial killings carried out as part of the 'false positives' case and did nothing to stop them, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that cited former generals.

The Congress formally ratified a revised peace agreement with Colombia's biggest leftist rebel group, capping a torturous four years of negotiations, a stunning referendum rejection, last-minute compromises and two signing ceremonies.

The Colombian Senate has approved a revised peace accord between the government and the FARC rebel group, taking a first step toward ratifying an agreement that was rejected by voters.

The text, which was renegotiated after an earlier version was given a thumbs down in the Oct. 2 national referendum, now must be approved by the lower house of the Colombian Congress.

Colombia's government and FARC rebels signed a controversial revised peace accord Nov. 24 to end their half-century conflict, set to be ratified in Congress despite bitter opposition.

President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a spent bullet, in a low-key ceremony in the capital Bogota.

The Colombian government and the Marxist FARC rebels said on Nov. 12 they agreed on a revised peace deal to end a 52-year war, six weeks after the original was narrowly rejected in a referendum amid objections it was too favorable to the rebels. 

The Colombian government and the country's second-largest rebel group, the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN), announced Oct. 10 they would launch negotiations on Oct. 27 in Ecuador's capital, with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos predicting "total peace."