BOGOTA: Colombia's Marxist ELN rebels resumed attacks on oil installations and the armed forces on Wednesday, just hours after the expiration of a ceasefire with the government that had reduced the intensity of the conflict, high-level military sources said. The talks in Quito, Ecuador, had been scheduled to restart on Wednesday after a recess between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the government of center-right President Juan Manuel Santos. The group's first-ever ceasefire, which began in October, ended overnight without being extended as logistical problems prevented the two sides from meeting at the scheduled time on Monday, the government said. A pact with the ELN would close the last chapter of a half-century conflict in the South American nation, following a deal struck by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Santos in November 2016 with the much larger FARC insurgents. The talks are complicated by a lack of confidence between the parties and upcoming votes to elect a new president and congress.
After failing to reach agreement on an extension of the 101-day ceasefire, hostilities resume between Colombia's government and ELN forces.