Bogotá, Colombia

The Colombian military said Thursday its forces had killed 15 members of a guerrilla group that has walked out on peace negotiations with the government.

A dozen more were injured in the operation last week in Cauca department in the west of the country, where the rebels oversaw a vast drug-growing operation, an army statement said.

The guerrillas were members of a front under the command of Ivan Mordisco, who pulled out of peace talks last week after a group he had led until then -- the Central General Staff (EMC) -- split into two.

The EMC itself is a remnant of the now-defunct FARC guerrilla group -- fighters who rejected the 2016 peace deal that disarmed what was then Latin America's most powerful armed group, as well as new recruits.

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© Agence France-Presse