His government plans to formally establish negotiations Thursday in the Ecuadoran capital Quito with the ELN, Colombia's second-biggest insurgent group. Like the FARC, the ELN formed in 1964 and is blamed for killings and kidnappings during a multi-sided 52-year civil war. The rebel force said on Twitter late Monday: "Overcoming difficulties, the ELN delegation for the peace talks is getting ready to be in Quito." The Colombian army blamed the ELN for a non-fatal explosion at an oil pipeline near the Venezuelan border on Sunday. Over the past three years this group has increased its level of violence," Colombia's Conflict Analysis Resource Center (CERAC) said in a report this month.

Source: Bangkok Post October 26, 2016 02:03 UTC