Violence in Colombia falls in first month of ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: Otty Patino, head of the negotiation team of the Colombian Government, Danilo Rueda, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Senate Member Ivan Cepeda, Pablo Beltran, head of leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) and Aureliano Carbonell, ELN negotiator, attend a news conference, announcing the second round of peace talks between Colombia's government and ELN for this year, in Caracas, Venezuela January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia's ceasefire with four armed groups has led to significant reductions in violence during its first month, Interior Minister Alfonso Prada said on Monday, with fewer murders and attacks on armed forces.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro has promised to seek either peace deals or surrender agreements with armed groups to end nearly six decades of conflict in which at least 450,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.