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Colombia National Liberation Army commits to poll ceasefire

COLOMBIAN guerilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN), has announced a five-day ceasefire to coincide with the second round of presidential elections.

The ELN will suspend hostilities from Friday June 15 until midnight on Tuesday June 19, allowing Colombians to go to the polls without the threat of violence.

The group says the move shows it is committed to peace. It follows a similar truce in mid-May during the first round of voting.

Peace talks are under way in Cuba in an effort to end more than 50 years of violence in Colombia that has left 220,000 dead and millions displaced.

“This unilateral measure shows again the will of the ELN in the construction of a true democracy in which the voice of the people can be expressed massively and freely at the polls,” the ELN said in a statement.

Colombians will decide their new president on Sunday, choosing between neoliberal rightwinger Ivan Duque and progressive Gustavo Petro. 

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