Bogota: Colombia’s ELN rebels said on Wednesday they would launch a three-day armed protest starting this weekend against the suspension of peace talks with the government, halting traffic and daily activities in areas they control.

Tensions between the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos and the National Liberation Army have been on the rise since late January, when peace talks halted after the hold-out guerrilla group killed seven police officers in a series of attacks. The government retaliated on February 1 by bombing an ELN camp in northwestern Colombia, killing three guerrillas.

The ELN, which has some 1,800 fighters, announced via their social media outlets that the “armed strike” would run from Saturday to Tuesday, to protest “the government’s refusal” to continue peace talks in Quito, in neighboring Ecuador.

The statement said that rebels operating in the Pacific region will block activities “on highways and rivers, as well as on sea and air routes.”

Agence France-Presse