A leader of the ELN, Colombia's last remaining active rebel force, has been killed in an operation by security forces, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday. "I congratulate our Public Forces for neutralising Alvaro Gelves Ortega, alias Jairo, 1st leader of the ELN's Jose Antonio Galan Front," Santos wrote on Twitter. The operation, which took place in the south of the country's northern Bolivar department, also left Ortega's "escort" dead, according to a tweet from General Jorge Nieto, director of Colombia's National Police.
The authorities did not provide further details regarding the operation. The leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Santos government have been engaged in rocky peace talks since February.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2017
AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017
AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017