<p>Colombia's armed forces and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are set to halt offensive actions against each other from this week, prior to the beginning of a full ceasefire in August.</p>

<p>The two sides agreed to the step in June during peace negotiations to end the guerrilla group's part in the country's nearly 60 years of internal conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/colombia-suspends-truce-with-armed-leftists-after-killing-of-four-indigenous-children-595225">Colombia suspends truce with armed leftists after killing of four Indigenous children</a></strong></p>

<p>"From 00 hour on July 6 until 00 hour&nbsp;on August 3, 2023, the structures of the National Liberation Army should stop all offensive military action against the armed forces and the police in all national territory, including intelligence efforts," the&nbsp;ELN&nbsp;said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.</p>

<p>The group will continue to respond to attacks on or threats to its units, it added.</p>

<p>The government's high peace commissioner, Danilo Rueda, in a statement on Tuesday said President Gustavo Petro will make an announcement in the same vein with explicit and specific orders to the armed forces.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cocaine-price-crash-a-blow-for-colombian-coca-growers-596786">Cocaine price crash a blow for Colombian coca growers</a></strong></p>

<p>The full ceasefire, set to begin August&nbsp;3 and last for six months, is the most concrete step so far after the talks began in November, and are part of Petro's efforts to end the conflict between the government, rebels and crime gangs.</p>

<p>Previous negotiations with the&nbsp;ELN, which has some 2,800 combatants, have faltered due to its diffuse chain of command and dissent within its ranks.</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE:&nbsp;</strong></p>

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Colombia's armed forces and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are set to halt offensive actions against each other from this week, prior to the beginning of a full ceasefire in August.

Colombia's armed forces and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are set to halt offensive actions against each other from this week, prior to the beginning of a full ceasefire in August. The two sides agreed to the step in June during peace negotiations to end the guerrilla group's part in the country's nearly 60 years of internal conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people. Also read | Colombia suspends truce with armed leftists after killing of four Indigenous children "From 00 hour on July 6 until 00 hour on August 3, 2023, the structures of the National Liberation Army should stop all offensive military action against the armed forces and the police in all national territory, including intelligence efforts," the ELN said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday. The group will continue to respond to attacks on or threats to its units, it added. The government's high peace commissioner, Danilo Rueda, in a statement on Tuesday said President Gustavo Petro will make an announcement in the same vein with explicit and specific orders to the armed forces. Also read | Cocaine price crash a blow for Colombian coca growers The full ceasefire, set to begin August 3 and last for six months, is the most concrete step so far after the talks began in November, and are part of Petro's efforts to end the conflict between the government, rebels and crime gangs. Previous negotiations with the ELN, which has some 2,800 combatants, have faltered due to its diffuse chain of command and dissent within its ranks. WATCH WION LIVE:

Colombia, ELN rebels agree to halt offensive actions this week, full ceasefire from August

<p>Colombia launched an initiative on Friday to plant a tree for each of the more than eight million victims of the country&#39;s 50-year armed conflict.<br />
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President Juan Manuel Santos, whose government is negotiating peace agreements with the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), planted the first tree Friday near the southeastern city of Mitu.<br />
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Trees for the &quot;Forests of Peace&quot; project will be planted throughout the country, sponsored by people around the world via the NGO Saving the Amazon website, Santos said.<br />
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The plan is to &quot;plant a number equal to that of the victims of armed conflict, in excess of eight million,&quot; he said.<br />
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<h5>&quot;This forest of peace will be managed and controlled by indigenous communities, who know best how to do it&quot;</h5>
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<p><br />
&quot;We will plant more than eight million trees in memory of the victims so that we will never again reproduce the atrocities of armed conflict that this war has brought to us,&quot; he added, saying every tree will bear a victim&#39;s name.<br />
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&quot;This forest of peace will be managed and controlled by indigenous communities, who know best how to do it,&quot; Santos said, while planting the first tree.<br />
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&quot;Someone in Paris, New York, Bogota or here in Mitu can go on the website and fund a tree for $20, and become the virtual owner,&quot; he added.<br />
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&quot;We will give the world the opportunity to contribute to peace in Colombia, but at the same time the preservation of humanity and the planet in planting forests and preserving the environment,&quot; he said.<br />
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Colombia&#39;s territorial conflict, which began in 1964, has been the longest-running war in Latin America, involving leftist guerilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries, and has left at least 260,000 people dead, 45,000 missing and millions displaced.</p>

<p>(AFP)<br />
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Colombia's territorial conflict, which began in 1964, has been the longest-running war in Latin America, involving leftist guerilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries

Colombia launched an initiative on Friday to plant a tree for each of the more than eight million victims of the country's 50-year armed conflict. President Juan Manuel Santos, whose government is negotiating peace agreements with the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), planted the first tree Friday near the southeastern city of Mitu. Trees for the "Forests of Peace" project will be planted throughout the country, sponsored by people around the world via the NGO Saving the Amazon website, Santos said. The plan is to "plant a number equal to that of the victims of armed conflict, in excess of eight million," he said. "This forest of peace will be managed and controlled by indigenous communities, who know best how to do it" "We will plant more than eight million trees in memory of the victims so that we will never again reproduce the atrocities of armed conflict that this war has brought to us," he added, saying every tree will bear a victim's name. "This forest of peace will be managed and controlled by indigenous communities, who know best how to do it," Santos said, while planting the first tree. "Someone in Paris, New York, Bogota or here in Mitu can go on the website and fund a tree for $20, and become the virtual owner," he added. "We will give the world the opportunity to contribute to peace in Colombia, but at the same time the preservation of humanity and the planet in planting forests and preserving the environment," he said. Colombia's territorial conflict, which began in 1964, has been the longest-running war in Latin America, involving leftist guerilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries, and has left at least 260,000 people dead, 45,000 missing and millions displaced. (AFP)

Colombia's 'Forests of Peace' launched for victims of armed conflict

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Colombia, ELN rebels agree to halt offensive actions this week, full ceasefire from August

Colombia's 'Forests of Peace' launched for victims of armed conflict