Colombia's government is reactivating arrest orders for the top leadership of the nation's largest rebel group following attacks on civilians as part of a deadly turf war with dissident guerrillas from another armed group for control of a coca-growing region bordering Venezuela.

At least 80 people have been killed and more than 18,000 forced to leave their homes in Colombia amid escalating violence between rebel groups. View on euronews

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

The unusually deadly violence delivers a devastating blow to the “total peace” program of the country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

At least 80 people were killed in northeast Colombia following failed attempts at peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.