Colombia's National Liberation Army Announces End of Ceasefire From 1 May

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - A major Colombian militant group, National Liberation Army (ELN) announced the end of the ceasefire from 1 May, the UN representative in Colombia immediately called on the ELN to extend the ceasefire because of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

"The ELN reports that the current unilateral ceasefire, made as a gesture to the country, ends on 30 April at 24:00", the statement on the group's website said.

The ELN consists of several thousand people and is the second-largest armed rebel organization in the country after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Colombia, the United States, and the EU consider the ELN a terrorist organisation.

The lockdown introduced in Colombia amid the pandemic since late March was supposed to end 27 April but the authorities extended it until 11 May. So far, the virus has infected over 5,590 people in the country and claimed the lives of at least 253, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.