Guerrilla Group Demands Government Restore Ceasefire in Cauca, Colombia

The members of the guerrilla group Central General Staff (EMC) have demanded that the Colombian government restore the bilateral ceasefire in Cauca. This comes after President Gustavo Petro, a few weeks prior, halted the ceasefire with the EMC due to their continuous assaults on civilians.

During ongoing negotiations with Colombia’s most prominent illegal armed faction, which emerged as a breakaway from the 2016 peace accord with the now-dissolved FARC, the EMC has issued warnings of potential attacks on military sites unless the ceasefire is reinstated in this troubled southern region.

Threats to peace

The illegal armed group EMC, led by the so-called Ivan Mordisco, is currently the main threat to public order in the Cauca region. Despite the proliferation of other armed groups that are present there, this guerrilla group is the one that has experienced the greatest growth in the last two years.

Despite peace talks with the Colombian government, violence by this organization has not ceased. Harassment of the civilian population and other armed actions have involved flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement signed with the government.

It is for this reason, and in a context of strong political pressure, that President Petro decreed the suspension of the cessation of armed actions against the insurgency in this area of the south of the country after the assassination of an indigenous leader. The dialogue continues, and a new round of talks is scheduled to begin in mid-May.

Cross accusations

In a communiqué issued by the guerrilla group yesterday, April 7, one can read how the illegal armed group directly accuses the government of “prioritizing military actions over respectful dialogue”. In this sense, the illegal organization declares that it was the government who initiated hostile actions against them, to which they “have only responded”.

“With deep patriotic pain, we must inform the people of Colombia that (…) the government has prioritized military actions over respectful dialogue,” the guerrillas state in the document.

The EMC also urged the population to stay away from “military patrols, battalions, police stations or any other armed unit of the Government” and “not to sleep in these places, not to get on military transports (…), not to be within 500 meters of these installations, not to transit through abandoned guerrilla camps.”

Likewise, the text makes a rhetorical call to the members of the public force to “disobey” their commanders, in an invitation to join the struggle, which they claim is “against the oligarchy that does not allow the changes the country needs”.

Red Cross denounces violence against civilians

All this comes just days after the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on the upsurge of guerrilla violence against thousands of civilians in Cauca. The international organization denounced forced disappearances, sexual violence, forced confinement, and the reappearance of anti-personnel mines.

Lorenzo Caraffi, head of the Red Cross delegation in Colombia, was blunt in a press conference last week, saying: “The panorama of violence is worrying.” Caraffi reported the existence of up to eight internal violent conflicts at the moment in the country. The latest of these, according to the head of the Red Cross delegation, has broken out between the EMC guerrillas and the paramilitaries of the Gulf Clan, who are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes in southern Colombia.

In addition, in its report, the Red Cross reported 444 alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the last year alone, aggravating the situation in departments such as Putumayo, Cauca, Narino, and Bolivar.

The situation, despite the government’s efforts to achieve peace through the Total Peace program, is worrisome due to the serious effects on the civilian population. In this regard, Caraffi said that the “Colombian State and the armed groups must place humanitarian concerns at the center of the peace dialogues.”

Overview by region

The International Committee of the Red Cross has released a report showing that Narino, a department bordering Ecuador, continues to face severe challenges due to widespread displacement and the presence of landmines, with 91 individuals falling victim in the latest reporting period.

In the Valle del Cauca department, particularly in areas like Tulua, there has been a notable rise in people being forced to flee their homes. This increase is attributed to escalating violence from criminal groups, including La Inmaculada. Valle del Cauca, located in the southwest of Colombia, now reports higher numbers of individual displacements than Arauca, indicating a growing issue of violence and forced migration within the region.

The situation in Choco, in the Pacific region, is critical and worsening. In 2023, a total of 47,013 people were registered as confined, an increase of 19% compared to the previous year, with Choco being the epicenter with 44% of the victims, mainly at the hands of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Gulf Clan. Putumayo is also experiencing an alarming increase in displacement, with a 1,000% increase in 2023 due to clashes between dissidents of the Carolina Ramirez front and the Border Commandos group.

Despite the impact, these clashes are not yet added to the identified armed conflicts, which include territorial disputes between the state and non-state armed groups such as the ELN or the Gulf Clan. In total, there are eight armed conflicts in Colombia, according to the Red Cross, reflecting a worrisome and worsening humanitarian situation in several regions of the country.