Colombia to end cease-fire with largest faction of FARC rebel holdout group

Colombia's government on Tuesday said it will end a cease-fire with the largest faction of the FARC-EMC, a holdout rebel group that refused to sign a 2016 peace deal but which had been involved in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro's administration until March.

In a press conference, Defence Minister Ivn Velsquez said the FARC-EMC has split into two factions. He said a cease-fire with the group's smallest faction will be extended for three months while peace talks with the government continue.

The FARC-EMC was founded by fighters who refused to join a peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 rebels and their integration into civilian life.

Colombia's military estimates the hold out group has more than 4,400 fighters who operate in southwestern Colombia, in the Amazon piedmont, and in the Catatumbo region along Colombia's border with Venezuela.

The group's two factions are led by commanders