Bogotá, Colombia – The conflict in Colombia’s northeast Catatumbo region flared up over the weekend with new confrontations between armed groups leaving at least seven dead.
Five people were killed in a massacre in the town of Ocaña on Sunday, March 9, while at least two were killed in rural areas of the Tibú municipality earlier on the same day.
The casualties are the latest in a wave of conflict between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents that erupted in January, killing at least 80 and displacing some 50,000.
On Sunday afternoon, gunfire was heard in the Tres Curvas and Case Tabla area of Tibú during confrontations between the ELN and FARC dissidents.
It was later reported that at least two people had died, but authorities are unable to provide an exact casualty figure due to the dangers of operating in the area.
Later the same day, reports emerged from Ocaña of simultaneous attacks on two establishments in the Los Sauces neighborhood. Three people were reportedly killed by a group of armed men at a shop while two others were killed in a bar.
The attacks also left six people injured, according to Colombian media reports.
This outburst of violence is the latest in weeks of confrontations between the two armed groups that has wreaked havoc on the civilian population, affecting some 92,000 according to the United Nations.
On January 20, Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a state of internal commotion, severing peace talks with the ELN and saying the guerrillas had chosen “the path of war.”
Since January, the state has deployed 10,000 uniformed police and soldiers in an attempt to pacify the Catatumbo region.
During a visit to Tibú in February, locals told Latin America Reports that the presence of security forces had brought some order to the town, but that rural areas remained dangerous.
While the violence seemed to peak in intensity in January, events in recent weeks suggest that the conflict is far from over.
In an interview last week with French news agency AFP, the commander of the ELN’s northeastern war front, alias “Ricardo,” said the group was open to peace but that war was the most likely path.
“If the military continues to arrive, most likely we will have a confrontation, because we are going to defend ourselves as an insurgent force,” the commander told AFP.
He also warned: “This total peace that Petro has been talking about, in the end, it is becoming total war.”
The ELN is using increasingly sophisticated tactics in its offensive against state security forces, including a drone attack in Tibú last week that left one soldier dead and injured four.
Meanwhile, the government is reportedly close to signing a peace deal with the Frente 33 bloc of the FARC dissidents, many of whom have already demobilized in recent months.
Featured image description: Colombian army
Featured image credit: @MinDefensa via X
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