Colombia recognizes dissident ELN faction as independent organization

A front of Colombian leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) has broken ranks with the group's central command, becoming the guerrillas' first dissident faction, as Colombia's government on Wednesday recognized it as an independent organization. The Southern Community Front, which operates in Colombia's Narino province, announced its split with the wider ELN on Tuesday, which was confirmed almost immediately by Pablo Beltran, head of the rebel group's peace delegation.

A front of Colombian leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) has broken ranks with the group's central command, becoming the guerrillas' first dissident faction, as Colombia's government on Wednesday recognized it as an independent organization.

The Southern Community Front, which operates in Colombia's Narino province, announced its split with the wider ELN on Tuesday, which was confirmed almost immediately by Pablo Beltran, head of the rebel group's peace delegation. "Consequently, (the government) will treat this group from Narino as a distinct and independent organization from the national organization, with which it holds political negotiations," the government's peace commissioner's office said in a statement.

The splintering of the ELN could cause obstacles for the total peace policy pushed by the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro, according to analysts. Negotiations between previous governments and the ELN - considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union - broke down due to the group's radical positions, diffuse chain of command, and dissent in its ranks.

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