For the first time since it took up arms in 1964, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group embarked upon a bilateral ceasefire with government security forces on 1 October. It ought to mark a historic milestone and offer encouragement for the completion of a peace process to complement that being implemented with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc). But optimism was dampened by the ELN’s seeming intent on inflicting as much damage as possible in the run-up to the declaration of the ceasefire; doubts about the control exerted by the ELN central command (Coce) over the group’s various fronts; and impending general elections, which are producing sharp divisions over peace even within the ruling Unidad Nacional coalition.End of preview - This article contains approximately 1159 words.
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