Colombia weighing whether to suspend EMC ceasefire after bombings

22/5/2024 6:48

        Colombian President Gustavo Petro is weighing whether to fully suspend a ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) rebel group, Defense Minister Ivan
        Velasquez said on Tuesday, after two bombings attributed to the group in the southeastern province of Cauca.
        
        The explosions, in the towns of Jamundi and Morales, occurred on Monday. The Morales bomb killed four people, including two police officers.
        
        "It has been the subject of consideration, discussion and is still a subject of analysis," Velasquez told journalists. "The president is weighing all the elements that we provide and it is ultimately him who will determine when and where there is or is not a ceasefire."
        
        The 3,500-strong EMC are rebels who rejected a landmark 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), previously the country's largest guerrilla organization.