Colombia's attorney general's office on Wednesday reissued arrest warrants for leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, who had been participating in peace talks, as forced displacement caused by ELN attacks rose to 32,

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday that he will declare a state of emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee their homes.

Colombia's government is reactivating arrest orders for the top leadership of the nation's largest rebel group.

Colombia's Attorney General reissued arrest warrants for ELN leaders amid increased violence and displacement in the Catatumbo region. President Petro, seeking peace after decades of conflict, suspended talks following ELN attacks.

Colombia reactivated arrest warrants for top commanders of the ELN guerrilla group Wednesday after an outbreak of violence that has hamstrung official efforts to bring "total peace" to a country scarred by decades of armed conflict.

More than 8,000 civilians fled the violence, with many seeking shelter in government facilities or hiding in the mountains.

President Gustavo Petro will appoint top aide, 30-year-old Laura Sarabia, as Colombia’s next foreign affairs minister, one the youngest-ever officials to assume the role.

The unusually deadly violence delivers a devastating blow to the “total peace” program of the country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

At least 80 people have been killed and thousands more have been displaced during clashes in the coca rich border region.

This was the country's deadliest wave of violence since the peace accords set by President Gustavo Petro in 2016