Colombia declares “war” after 100 are killed by guerilla attacks.

As security forces scrambled to quell a wave of violence that has killed over 100 people and threatened to derail the nation’s difficult peace process, Colombia swore “war” against left-wing insurgents on Monday.

Three departments in Colombia have reported violence in the last five days, ranging from the deep Amazon jungle to the rocky border with Venezuela, where 11,000 people have been displaced by conflict.

In response to the growing crisis, Gustavo Petro, who has up to now based his political success on a policy of engagement and discussions, indicated a much harder stance.
He sent a bold warning to the commanders of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, on Monday. The ELN is suspected of carrying out attacks on rival communist organizations in the border area that resulted in the deaths of 80 people.

Petro claimed that the ELN had “selected the path of war, and war they will have.”

In an effort to stem some of the worst violence Colombia has seen in years, around 5,000 troops have already been sent to the border region.

There are several armed organizations and cartels in the nation that are left-, right-, and apolitical that compete for control of the lucrative cocaine trade.

ELN fighters were described by the Ombudsman’s Office as moving “house to house,” murdering those who were thought to have connections to FARC dissidents.

Fearful locals evacuated the area over the weekend, lugging their goods and backpacks on overloaded motorbikes, boats, or jammed into the backs of open vehicles.

While hundreds sought safety in the town of Tibu, where many shelters were established, others crossed the border into Venezuela, which for some represented a homecoming to a nation from which they had escaped political and economic unrest.

45-year-old farmer Geovanny Valero told AFP, “As a Colombian, it is painful for me to leave my country,” adding that he hopes the matter would be “sorted out” so he can go back.

Colombia’s army ministry announced fresh fighting in a remote area of the Amazon on Monday.

Twenty people were slain in combat between competing left-wing militants in the jungle-clad province of Guaviare, a ministry official told AFP.

The Amazon clashes involved rival FARC splinter groups-leftwing guerrillas who, unlike the rump Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have not signed peace accords.