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January 23rd, 2016 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Conflict-related violence in Colombia has dropped to levels as low as prior to the establishment of the FARC-EP in 1964 say observers. The most important armed violence to tackle now comes from ultra-right neo-paramilitaries, agreed the government and the FARC.
Female FARC-EP guerrilla. (Photo courtesy FARC-EP)
The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – peoples’ Army (FARC-EP) launched a bilateral ceasefire on January 1, 2016. Conflict-related violence has, however, dropped significantly already before the ceasefire came into effect, as both sides were displaying signs of goodwill to end 51 years of civil war in the country.
The Office of the Ombudsman as well as the Center for Resources for the Analysis of Conflict (CERAC) reported that the FARC’s unilateral ceasefire that came into force on July 20, 2015 and the government’s suspension of air strikes have led to an unprecedented reduction of violence that has been as low as what they described as “pre-FARC-levels”.
The office of the Ombudsman noted, however, that certain FARC elements have continued to threaten civilians and broken the promise to end the recruitment of child soldiers. The office “alleged” that members of the FARC-EP recruited two 16-year-old boys in the central Guaviare province.
Both sides have committed minor violations of the ceasefire. One of the main problems is trust-building and the fact that the eventual decommissioning of weapons of FARC-EP units leaves both FARC members as well as populations in FARC-EP dominated areas vulnerable to atrocities committed by neo-paramilitaries such as Los Urabenos.
In late 2015 both President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC-EP leader Timoshenko agreed that the main threat against the ongoing peace process and the main security threat Colombia faces comes from ultra-right-wing neo-paramilitaries.
F/AK – nsnbc 23.01.2016
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/01/23/armed-conflict-in-colombia-dropped-significantly/
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