ELN guerrillas murdered three police officers in the Casanare department in eastern Colombia Sunday, according to local media.
Police assigned to the area were providing protection for an oil company when a group of guerrillas armed with explosives launched an attacked. Early reports confirmed that at least one other police officer was injured in the attack in the western Aguazul municipality, whose economy is largely dependent on oil.
The ELN has recently executed similar attacks in the area. In early July, to commemorate their 48th year of operations, they staged a three-day attack on oil infrastructure.
The assault came days after the ELN voiced interest in organizing a political exit to the conflict. In a message posted on their website, the rebel group asked a forum of leftist political parties and other organizations to “accept a direct dialogue […] which will have as the prime objective an interchange leading to peace for Colombia.”