Colombia's left-wing government on Thursday announced it was suspending military bombardments of guerrilla camps where children are suspected to have been forcibly recruited.

The bombing of rebel camps is a controversial topic in conflict-ravaged Colombia.

In 2019, then defense minister Guillermo Botero resigned after eight forcibly recruited children age 12 to 17 died in a military strike against dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group.

Two years later, a leftist legislator claimed four children were killed in a bombing operation to take out a leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla movement.

"Children forcibly recruited by illegal groups are victims of this violence," said Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez.

"Therefore no military action with respect to illegal armed organizations can endanger the lives of these victims.

"We have to privilege life over death and cannot carry out operations ... that put at risk the lives of the civilian population."

Since President Gustavo Petro was elected in June, the new left-wing government has focused on changing the tactics used by the military, demanding that they show more respect for human rights and act in defense of peace.

Colombia has suffered six decades of conflict between the state and leftist rebels, with right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers also playing a role.

Guerrillas have long recruited children to boost their ranks, particularly in areas of the country with little state presence.

Meanwhile, the ELN insisted on its Twitter account that its central command has enough authority over its fractured fighting units to negotiate a genuine peace with the government.

Petro has said he intends to negotiate with rebels in a bid to bring an end to the conflict.

In 2016, former president Juan Manuel Santos brokered a peace deal with the FARC, although dissidents who refused to lay down arms still remain active.

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