Agreement on Peace Talks with the Marxist ELN Guerilla

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos announced an agreement on peace talks with Colombia's second largest guerrilla organisation, the ELN, on the fringes of the WEF in Davos.

Following the successful peace agreement with the FARC rebels, Nobel Peace Prize winner Santos has now also promised peace talks with the ELN guerilla for February 2017. The background is the imminent release of former member of parliament Odín Sánchez, who has been held hostage by the ELN guerrillas for a year.

The ELN guerrilla has an estimated 2,000 fighters. An agreement would be particularly important because it could prevent the ELN from taking control of former FARC areas and drug trafficking.

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Santos also wants peace with second guerrillas (NZZ 2017)