At least 23 killed in armed clashes in Colombia's Arauca, government says

FILE PHOTO: Colombian soldiers patrol by boat on the Arauca River, at the border between Colombia and Venezuela, as seen from Arauquita, Colombia March 28, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Twenty-three people have been reported killed so far in Colombia's Arauca province amid fighting between illegal armed groups, Defense Minister Diego Molano told a news conference late on Monday.

Fighting broke out over the weekend in Arauca - which sits on the border with Venezuela - as members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) fought with dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who reject a 2016 peace deal.