The death toll from attacks by ELN rebels in Colombia has risen to 60 in the country's restive Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, officials said on Saturday. Rival groups have for years been fighting in the area over control of the cocaine trade. The Ombudsman's Office said the latest violence involved the National Liberation Army (ELN) - the largest armed group still active in Colombia - and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which signed a peace treaty with the state in 2016.

The FARC faction did not publicly respond to the allegation. On Friday it said it had begun withdrawing its units to prevent the violence from escalating. The Catatumbo region is considered strategic for drug trafficking because of its proximity to Venezuela, from where illegal armed groups export cocaine, security sources have said. Petro’s government since 2022 has pursued peace negotiations with leftist guerrillas and criminal gangs founded by former right-wing paramilitaries, in a bid to end Colombia’s internal conflict. Six decades of fighting in the Andean country has killed at least 450,000 people.

"There is a very critical situation in this region of the country," military commander General Luis Emilio Cardozo said Saturday. The "break" of a truce between the ELN and FARC dissidents has caused a "significant impact on the civilian population," he said in a video published by the military on X. "They have taken people from their homes and miserably murdered them, violating all human rights of the people. It is up to us as the national army to stabilize the territory," Cardozo said, addressing hundreds of troops deployed in the region. Many communities, fearing the spread of violence, have fled their homes, leading to a significant increase in internally displaced persons (IDPs). The report also noted that the current government’s peace process, which aims to bring these insurgent groups to the negotiation table, faces significant challenges as hostilities escalate.

The situation in Colombia remains fluid, and the coming months will be critical in determining whether the government can effectively address the rise in rebel violence while ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens. International attention continues to be focused on Colombia, as the country seeks a path toward lasting peace and stability amidst its ongoing internal conflicts.