Colombia ELN leftist guerrilla group declares Christmas ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: Danilo Rueda, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, members of the Senate of Colombia, Ivan Cepeda and Maria Pizarro, Jose Felix Lafaurie, the representative of the Colombian livestock sector, Pablo Beltran, head of the leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), and Otty Patino, head of the negotiation team of the Colombian Government, attend a news conference after holding the last round of peace talks with Colombia's government for this year, in Caracas, Venezuela December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Monday declared a nine-day unilateral ceasefire over the Christmas period, as part of a bid to support peace talks with the Andean country's government.

Colombia's government and the ELN last week completed the first cycle of peace talks between the two parties in Venezuela's capital Caracas.