Colombia will continue military offensives against the FARC despite talks between the country’s government and its largest and oldest rebel group, said Colombia’s foreign minister Thursday while at the United Nations in New York.
Before taking part in a Security Council meeting on ongoing violence in Syria, Minister Maria Angela Holguin told press that “what we are seeking is the real end of the conflict, not its extention. At no point there will be a cessation of the hunt of the FARC.”
Holguin told foreign press that “there have been the initial approaches and we will see the results in a few days.”
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday announced the preliminary talks with the FARC a day before Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said to increase the number of armed forces fighting the FARC.
The FARC have not officially made a statement regarding the peace talks. Following a sharp increase in rebel attacks between July and August, attacks have dropped drastically since last week.