Colombia's ELN rebels freeze peace talks planned for April

Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels said on Thursday they are suspending their participation in the coming cycle of peace negotiations with the government, planned for this month, but will attend an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Friday.

The announcement is the latest development in recent troubles at the talks, restarted by President Gustavo Petro at the end of 2022 as part of his efforts to end Colombia's six-decade conflict, which killed at least 450,000 people.