Colombia peace talks with ELN rebels resume

Colombia's government resumed peace talks with National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, seeking to lay the foundations for a bilateral ceasefire despite recent tensions.

The ELN reacted angrily last month after the government claimed it had agreed a ceasefire with the Marxist guerrillas.

The government was forced to backtrack but the spat has not derailed peace talks, which began in Venezuela in November.

The second round of talks, being held in Mexico City, would begin "within the framework of building a complete and definitive peace."

Chief government delegate Otty Patino said at an opening ceremony that a ceasefire should be not only "a decrease in armed confrontations" but also "a reduction in hostilities against the civilian population and illegal activities that cause damage and violence."

Pablo Beltran, head of the ELN delegation, said there was a "determination to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace."

However, the Mexico talks would not "decree an automatic demobilisation of the rebellions," he added.

Colombia resumed peace talks with the country's last recognized armed rebels in November after Gustavo Petro became the South American country's first ever left-wing president in August.

The talks had been suspended by his conservative predecessor Ivan Duque.

Founded in 1964 by trade unionists and students inspired by Marxist revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the Cuban revolution.