At least 30 people have been killed in violence between rival leftwing groups near Colombia's restive border with Venezuela, authorities said Friday, prompting the government to suspend high-stakes peace talks with one guerilla group.
President Gustavo Petro declared a pause in already spluttering peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN), accusing them of "war crimes" during a fresh wave of unrest.
At least thirty people were killed and 20 injured when members of the ELN seemingly targeted dissident members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in their villages and farms.
Officials spoke of ELN gunmen going "house to house" in search of people believed to be linked to the FARC dissidents.
Local coca grower Jose del Carmen Abril told AFP the guerillas "came to my house four times yesterday looking for me."
They later issued an ultimatum to his community that "today was the last day and they had to hand me over dead," he said after being evacuated from the area by the army.
William Villamizar, governor of North Santander department, said the violence began on Thursday and was caused by a "territorial dispute" linked to the cocaine trade.
For decades, rival armed groups have fought over control of ultra-lucrative coca plantations that dot the Colombia-Venezuela border region and which fuel the world's cocaine habit.
Public Defender Iris Marin said preliminary reports indicated that "dozens" of families had been displaced by the violence and more than 20 people were missing.
Giovanny Sanguino said two of his friends and their nine-month old son were among the dead.
"This is not normal" he told AFP. "To take the life of an entire family is atrocious. The people who committed this have no feelings."
The thousands-strong ELN is one of the biggest armed groups still active in Colombia.
While claiming to be driven by leftist and nationalist ideology, the group is deeply involved in the drug trade and has become one of the region's most powerful organized crime groups.
- 'Total Peace' -
On Friday troops from the Colombian army's Second Division poured into the area, taking some of the wounded out in helicopters and trying to reimpose some semblance of order.
The violence is a serious security challenge for Colombia's armed forces, who struggle to control the mountainous and jungle-cloaked nation that is home to a plethora of armed guerillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels.
It is also a challenge for Petro, Colombia's first-ever leftist president.
He has tied his political fate to a policy of "Total Peace", launching talks with violent armed groups that are despised by many Colombians.
"We are suspending dialogue with this group because the ELN shows no willingness to make peace," Petro said.
Talks with the ELN broke down for several months last year after the group launched a deadly attack on a military base.
Elizabeth Dickinson, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said this bout of violence was no ordinary clash between armed groups.
"This is a very serious crisis," she said. "The security situation is deteriorating rapidly".
She told AFP that the ELN seemed to have decided that controlling territory and the unity of their organization were more important than peace talks.
"This is not a one-off, it's ongoing, it's a military campaign," she said. "They seem to be seeking to create a new round of conflict."
The ELN's ties with Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro are likely to complicate matters.
Many Latin American nations, including Colombia, have refused to recognize Maduro's claim to have won a recent election, which many see as rigged.
"Venezuela is an existential ally for the ELN" said Dickinson and Caracas is "not happy with Colombia's diplomatic stance."