BOGOTA -Colombia's government has ended a ceasefire with some factions of the EMC rebels, led by commander Ivan Mordisco, who reject peace talks, the defense ministry said on Tuesday.

The Estado Mayor Central (EMC) was formed by dissident former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters who themselves reject a 2016 peace deal with the state.

"(The ceasefire) will continue for three months with the Gentil Duarte block, the Jorge Suarez Briceno block, and the Raul Reyes front," the defense ministry said in a message via X.

Divisions inside the EMC, which rebel leadership has put down to internal disagreements but not detailed further, have caused observers to warn of worse violence and risk to civilians.

President Gustavo Petro in May was weighing whether to fully suspend a ceasefire with the EMC, after two bombings attributed to the group in the southwestern province of Cauca.

Petro has promised to end the 60-year conflict, which has killed 450,000 people, through new peace deals, but he is confronting significant hurdles, including the fraught EMC negotiations, which began in October last year.

The EMC has an estimated 3,500 members.

  - Reuters