![Colombia's defense minister](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/08/_2/740x404/pic_1472289728.jpg)
Colombia's Defense Minister
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published August 27, 2016 | 02:22 PM
![Colombia's defense minister](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/08/_2/740x404/pic_1472289728.jpg)
BOGOTA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -27th Augst,2016) - Colombia's defense minister has insisted the historic ceasefire with FARC rebels will not end the country's commitment to fight crime, as a judge on Friday issued arrest warrants for leaders of another group also pushing for a peace deal. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ordered a definitive ceasefire with the Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), due to start on Monday, after the two sides reached a landmark deal to end their half-century conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. That announcement came after Colombian and FARC negotiators presented a 297-page peace accord Wednesday following nearly four years of arduous negotiations in Cuba. A smaller Colombian leftist rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), is hoping to reach a similar peace deal -- but on Friday a judge ordered the arrest of the its top leaders for crimes that include their role in the destruction of oil pipelines. The charges against members of the ELN's Central Command include "the use of methods of illicit warfare, destruction of the environment and homicide," a Bogota judge said in a statement. The attorney general's office has accused the rebel group of being behind attacks on Colombia's oil infrastructure between 2011 and 2016, especially targeting the 780-kilometer Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline.
The pipeline attacks resulted in the loss of at least 3.5 billion barrels of crude worth $1.7 billion, as well as cleanup and environmental damage of some $25 billion, according to prosecutors. In March Colombia and the ELN announced moves to begin formal peace, but the rebels have yet to meet the government's precondition of releasing all of their hostages and stop all kidnapping. - No letup on crime - ===================== Soldiers and police will continue to combat kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, smuggling, illegal mining and human trafficking even after the ceasefire officially begins with the FARC Monday, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said Friday. "We are in a ceasefire (with the FARC), but will not cease persecuting crime," he said. "We hope that this component of the ceasefire with the FARC, concerning criminal activity, will be fully implemented," he said. Groups of FARC rebels have been involved in all of those crimes in the past, and with peace some former guerrillas could become full-time criminals.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
5 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
5 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
5 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
5 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
5 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
5 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
5 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
5 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
5 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
6 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
6 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
6 hours ago