FARC dissident group 'ready' to start peace talks with government

A dissident group from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said on Sunday that they are ready to begin peace talks with the government and end the armed conflict.

"We announce before the whole world that our delegates to the dialogue table with the Colombian state, headed by the national government, are already ready for May 16 of this year," Ángela Izquierdo, spokeswoman for the armed group, said on Sunday.

"We hope the official installation of the table can be realized," she added. 

The dissident group, Estado Mayor Central (EMC), is one of two breakaway fractions from FARC. The group is made up of 3,530 members, 2,180 combatants and 1,350 support members. In 2016, the faction rejected a peace agreement with the government that led to the dissolution of the FARC.

Since earlier this year, however, EMC has maintained a bilateral ceasefire with the Colombian government. 

Colombia’s leftist President Gustave Petro has vowed to end the decades-long armed conflict that has left more than 450,000 dead by reaching peace agreements with the country’s armed groups and criminal gangs. 

The National Liberation Army (ELN) has been engaging in peace negotiations with the government since last year. The two parties are expected to meet for a third round of talks in Cuba in the near future. 

The government had also been in talks with the Clan del Golfo and had reached a cease-fire agreement. However, the agreement was suspended last month after the Clan allegedly incited violence during demonstrations. 

There are more than 17,600 individuals that belong to Colombia’s four major armed groups and 23 gangs operating in major cities, according to two security reports released last week.