27 Dead in Clash Between Guerrilla Groups in Colombia

Illustration of the Colombian military (Wikimedia Commons/Pipeafcr)

JAKARTA - At least 27 members of a left-wing guerrilla group in Colombia were killed in clashes with rival factions in the fight for control of a jungle territory in southwestern Colombia, according to a military authority report on Sunday.

The clashes, the most violent in months, took place in the rural area of El Retorno Department, Guaviare, 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of Bogota, a military source said, citing Al Arabiya.

The region is strategic for cocaine production and trade.

The clashes took place between the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) faction led by Nestor Gregorio Vera, known by the war name Ivan Mordisco, and another faction led by Alexander Diaz Mendoza, alias Calarca Cordoba, according to a second military source.

The two groups are part of the so-called Central General Staff, but split in April 2024 due to internal disputes.

All the casualties were from the Vera group, according to two military sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A leader of the Mendoza group also confirmed the clashes and 27 deaths to Reuters.

The guerrilla faction led by Diaz Mendoza is currently engaged in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro, while Vera's group resumed hostilities after the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire.

These now rival factions have rejected a 2016 peace deal that allowed some 13,000 FARC members to abandon the armed struggle and reintegrate into society after being disarmed.

The armed conflict in Colombia, which has lasted for more than six decades and is mainly financed by the drug trade and illegal mining, has left more than 450,000 dead and millions displaced, with President Petro's current peace efforts stalled.