FARC suspends truce after Colombia army attack
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - Colombia's FARC leftist guerrilla group has suspended a unilateral ceasefire after 26 of its fighters were killed in a government air and ground offensive.
The ceasefire had been in place since December 2014. President Juan Manuel Santos called on the guerrillas to "speed up" negotiations taking place in Havana, Cuba. The two sides have been in on-off negotiations since 2012 in an attempt to end more than half a century of conflict.
Thursday's attack - in the country's south-western Cauca region - was the deadliest since the resumption of air strikes against the guerrillas last month. The guerrilla group said in a statement that the ceasefire suspension was the result of "five months of land and air offensives against our structures all over the country".
"We deplore the joint attack by the air force, the army and the police," said the statement. "We feel pain for the deaths of guerrilla fighters as well as soldiers, sons of a same people and from poor families". But the group said they were willing to continue with the latest round of peace talks in Havana.
"Against our will we will proceed with the [peace] talks in the middle of a confrontation," they said. They also reiterated their demand for Mr Santos to agree a bilateral ceasefire.
The decision by the FARC to suspend its ceasefire seems to suggest an intensification of Colombia's half-century-long internal conflict. More attacks by the group are expected, as well as new government offensives. But both the government and the guerrilla group insisted in the wake of this latest confrontation that they will not abandon the negotiations in Havana.
At the previous round of peace talks, the FARC called for the dismantling of right-wing paramilitary groups fighting against the guerrillas. The two sides failed to reach an agreement over reparations for the victims of the conflict, an issue that has been wrangled over for months.
The peace process
November 2012 - Formal peace talks begin in the Cuban capital Havana between the Colombian government and the FARC.
May 2013 - A deal is reached on land reform, one of the most contentious issues. It calls for fair access to land, and rural development, two key causes of the conflict.
November 2013 - The two sides agree on the political participation of the FARC should a peace deal be reached.
May 2014 - Both parties pledge to eliminate all illicit drug production in Colombia.
December 2014 - FARC declares a unilateral ceasefire.
March 2015 - Both sides agree to work together to remove landmines. Colombia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
April 2015 - Government resumes air strikes after the FARC kills 11 soldiers in ambush.
May 2015 - FARC suspends its unilateral ceasefire after government military operation kills 26 guerrilla fighters.
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