Clash between guerrilla groups in Colombia leaves 48 dead

Clashes between two dissident factions of the disbanded FARC guerrilla movement left 48 people dead in the Colombian Amazon, a local mayor told AFP on Thursday, days ahead of the May 31 presidential election.

"The bodies are lying there in a heap, they need to be evacuated," said Willy Rodriguez, the mayor of the regional capital San Jose del Guaviare, situated about six hours from the scene of the fighting, told AFP in a phone call.

Colombia has been rocked by the worst wave of violence in the decade since FARC laid down arms in 2016 after half a century of war with the government.

Various smaller guerrilla factions are vying for control of jungle territory once controlled by the rebel army, as well as revenues from drug trafficking and illegal mining.

Rescue teams are awaiting authorisation from the armed groups present in Guaviare to travel to the scene to recover the bodies.

The mayor said the fighting took place in the hamlet of Vereda Piripal and that the community itself provided the provisional death toll.

The bloodshed marks a new blow for the failed "total peace" strategy of outgoing left-wing President Gustavo Petro -- a hot-button issue in the presidential campaign.

The left-wing senator leading the race to succeed Petro, Ivan Cepeda, has vowed to continue pursuing dialogue with armed groups. His right-wing rivals, led by tough-talking lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, a fan of US President Donald Trump, argue that the rebels need to be crushed militarily.

Petro's government has in recent months stepped up attacks against the guerrillas.

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez told Blu Radio on Thursday that, despite espousing revolutionary rhetoric, FARC dissidents have "a single objective: the criminal economy, living off drug trafficking."

He said that weather conditions had made it impossible to deploy troops to the area by air but that they were advancing overland.

An army source told AFP that the fighting began on Monday.

There is no information on whether it is currently ongoing.