ELN Rebel Army Calls Unilateral Holiday Truce
Colombia’s second-largest guerrilla army announced a unilateral Christmas truce, including a halt to kidnappings and bombings of oil pipelines and electrical towers.
The announcement by the leftist National Liberation Army, or ELN, came after rebel and government envoys met last week in Cuba to launch formal peace talks. The truce throws at least a temporary lifeline to Colombian President Andres Pastrana’s embattled peace efforts.
ELN founder and leader Nicolas Rodriguez called the truce, which will run until Jan. 6, a goodwill gesture and said the rebels were asking for nothing immediate in return.
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