Colombia, ELN rebels begin six-month ceasefire
Al JazeeraCeasefire, set to run for 180 days, marks largest victory so far in President Gustavo Petro’s ‘total peace’ plan. A six-month ceasefire between the Colombian government and the country’s largest remaining armed rebel group has entered into force, in the largest victory for President Gustavo Petro in his push to end decades of armed conflict. “The ELN central command orders all units to suspend offensive operations against the armed forces, police and security organisations of the Colombian state,” the group’s top commander, Eliecer Herlinto Chamorro, known as Antonio Garcia, said in a video on Monday. The government’s high peace commissioner, Danilo Rueda, on Tuesday said the ceasefire would prevent violence and human rights abuses like kidnappings.