The Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) said on Monday that it had agreed to a temporary ceasefire with the Colombian government.
¡Sí se pudo! Agradecemos a todas y todos quienes apoyaron decididamente los esfuerzos para alcanzar este #CeseAlFuegoBilateral pic.twitter.com/DVUqcqLGmJ
— ELN Paz (@ELN_Paz) September 4, 2017
“Yes we could!” the ELN tweeted. “Thank you to all of those who supported these efforts to reach this bilateral ceasefire.”
Telesur reported that the ceasefire will be announced at 11 a.m. local time in Ecuador. Bilateral peace talks between ELN and the Colombian government have been taking place in Quito for months.
According to the reports, the deal includes a verification process to be overseen by an international body. The Colombian government has reportedly agreed to improve conditions for imprisoned ELN members.
The ELN ceasefire comes less than a week after the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC) guerrillas announced they were relaunching as a political party called Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Comun, or Common Alternative Revolutionary Force.
U.N. officials recently affirmed that FARC had fully disarmed, just over a year after signing a peace accord with Colombian President Juan Miguel Santos.
