At least 80 people have been killed in northeastern Colombia after the collapse of ELN peace talks News about armed groups

Attacks by ELN rebel fighters in the Katatumbo area forced thousands of people to flee the area.

More than 80 people were killed in just three days in northeastern Colombia unsuccessful attempts to conduct peace negotiations with the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN), an official said.

The ELN launched an attack in the northeastern region of Catatumbo last Thursday on rival group consists of former members of the now defunct armed group FARC who continued to fight after disarming in 2017.

Civilians were trapped in the middle and by Sunday it was estimated that “more than 80 people had lost their lives,” said Governor William Villamizar of Norte de Santander department, which includes Catatumbo.

The latest casualties on Saturday were estimated at 60 people, including seven former fighters from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in five municipalities of the cocaine-producing mountainous region near the border with Venezuela.

The victims included community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who wanted to sign a peace agreement, according to a report released late Saturday by the government's ombudsman agency.

Thousands of people are fleeing the area, with some hiding in the nearby lush mountains or seeking help in government shelters.

Villamizar said about two dozen people had been injured and about 5,000 displaced in the outbreak of violence and described the resulting humanitarian situation as “alarming.”

“Catatumbo needs help,” Villamizar said in a public address on Saturday.

“Boys, girls, young people, teenagers, whole families are showing up with nothing, driving trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can, on foot to avoid being victims of this confrontation.”

The army said more than 5,000 troops had been sent to the region to “strengthen security”.

Army chief General Luis Emilio Cardoso Santamaria said Saturday that authorities were reinforcing the humanitarian corridor between Tibu and Cucuta for the safe passage of those forced to flee their homes. He said special urban soldiers were also deployed in municipal capitals “where there are risks and a lot of fear”.

The FARC disarmed under a 2016 peace deal reached after more than half a century of war.

However, the pact has failed to quell violence involving leftist groups, including FARC detainees, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels against resources and trafficking routes in some regions of the country.

The ELN blamed former FARC rebels for several killings in the area, including the Jan. 15 killing of a couple and their nine-month-old baby.

In a statement on Saturday, the ELN said it had warned former FARC members that if they “continue to attack the population … there is no other way out than armed confrontation.”

In recent days, the ELN has also clashed with the Gulf Clan, the biggest drug cartel in the world's biggest cocaine producer, leaving at least nine dead in different parts of northern Colombia.

The latest violence prompted President Gustavo Petro on Friday to end talks with the ELN in his quest for “complete peace” for the violence-riddled country.