Colombia's government and the country's last active rebel force plan to start demining conflict areas, the armed group said Thursday.

The announcement by the National Liberation Army (ELN) came weeks after it launched peace talks with the government.

The ELN hopes that "by April 7 we can be organizing humanitarian demining activities in various regions," its chief negotiator Pablo Beltran said on Caracol Radio.

"There have been demands for that and we are going to listen. That is an agreement that will be reached in the negotiations."

Colombia ranks as the country with the second-biggest quantity of landmines after Afghanistan, according to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

The Colombian conflict erupted in 1964 and has drawn in various rebel and paramilitary groups and gangs as well as state forces.

Of the 260,000 people estimated by authorities to have died in the conflict, some 2,000 have been killed by landmines.

President Juan Manuel Santos says he wants a deal with the ELN to seal "complete peace" after signing an accord with the biggest rebel force, the FARC, in November.

Tweet

China holds military drills near restive Myanmar border
Beijing (AFP) March 28, 2017
China's army held drills near its border with Myanmar on Tuesday, state media reported, in a show of strength from Beijing following weeks of clashes between ethnic rebels and Myanmar's military. Tens of thousands of people have fled to China in recent months to escape the battles in Myanmar's restive borderlands. The bloodshed has threatened to derail a push by de facto leader Aung San ... read more

Related Links
Space War News

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only