The Colombian bishops' conference has welcomed the beginning of a six-month ceasefire between the nation's military and the largest remaining rebel group in the country, and began to train dozens of priests and lay workers from different parts of the country on how to help monitor the truce. The group also discussed methods that would be most suitable to report breaches of the ceasefire. The Catholic Church has been present at the peace talks through Bishop Héctor Fabio Henao, who heads the Colombian bishops' conference's delegation for relations between church and state. Under the ceasefire, the ELN rebels and the military have promised to stop attacking each other. Although the ceasefire has been welcomed by human rights activists and Catholic Church leaders, it has also been rejected by some segments of Colombian society.

Source: Ethiopian News August 16, 2023 18:47 UTC