Ex-FARC fighter talks about the situation in northern Colombia

Former FARC fighters who signed a peace agreement with the authorities in 2016 are most vulnerable to attacks by members of the Army of National Liberation (ELN). An ex-FARC fighter told Izvestia on condition of anonymity.

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According to him, the ELN came to his father's house on January 16 with weapons in their hands to kill him.

"If he had come out, they probably would have started shooting at him. But he was not at home, he had gone to work in the fields early in the morning. At around 10am, he called me and said: "Son, the war between the ELN and the FARC has started and they are killing the signatories of the peace agreement." He said he was already fleeing the village because the ELN collaborators had already come home four times and they were looking for me and my father to kill," he said.

The war for influence between ELN rebels and the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) splinter group Frente 33 in northern Colombia has been raging since mid-January.

According to regional authorities, more than 48,000 people have been displaced from their homes, some 25,000 have been blockaded by crossfire, 41 have been killed and 12 are missing.

Read more in Izvestia's exclusive piece:

"I don't feel safe in Colombia - the ELN and FARC are looking for me."