Colombia

The Colombian government says 15 police officers and 12 soldiers have been killed over the past two weeks in targeted attacks it blames on armed groups.

Colombia must harmonize peace policies and security policies, the UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Tuesday. Carlos Ruiz Massieu said an upsurge in violence in some regions has highlighted challenges to achieving peace. … The re-integration of former FARC combatants remains a priority, he said. More than 12,000 have laid down their arms and the majority are actively involved in the reintegration process.

Colombia’s national government ended a bilateral ceasefire with guerrilla group EMBF and immediately ordered a month-long suspension of military attacks. The two decrees appear to add pressure on government and guerrilla representatives who have been formally negotiating peace since October of 2023.

The Colombian government will suspend a ceasefire with a faction of what was once the armed Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, it said on Thursday, though it said the decision did not imply the end of peace talks with the group.

The mayor of Cúcuta imposed a 48-hour curfew on the population of 1 million inhabitants in the hope of regaining control of the city after combatants of Colombia’s largest armed group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), attacked police stations with assault rifles and grenades and destroyed toll booths with car bombs.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday called for his ministers and other senior officials to step down, as tensions soared in the government days after he lambasted his team on live television.

The recent deadly violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region has highlighted the ongoing challenges in consolidating peace, eight years after the signing of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday. Clashes between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and a rival armed group, EMBF, erupted last week in the remote northeastern region, leaving dozens dead, including former combatants, peace signatories, social leaders, and human rights defenders.

Deadly violence targeting community leaders and rights defenders in Colombia reduced slightly in 2024, according to a prominent conflict monitor.

Welcoming progress made towards peace across Colombia amid the Government’s outreach efforts with women, youth and ethnic groups, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia for one year to monitor and verify implementation of a ceasefire between the Government and armed groups.

Ahead of the eighth anniversary of Colombia’s peace agreement next month which ended a five-decades-long insurgency, the UN’s envoy to the country highlighted both “historic progress” and significant remaining challenges on Tuesday. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council that recent Government initiatives reflected an “important re-centreing” of the peace process.