At least 80 people were killed in northeast Colombia following failed attempts at peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Terrified residents carrying backpacks and belongings on overladen motorcycles, boats, or crammed onto the backs of open trucks, fled the region over the weekend.

The conflict stems from battles over control of strategic drug trafficking routes between the left-wing rebel ELN and remnant factions of FARC.

Over 100 people have been killed in an outbreak of guerrilla violence in Colombia, predominantly along the Venezuelan border, where thousands of people have been displaced by the worst fighting in years.

The criminal war in northeast Colombia has escalated, as intense fighting between two Colombian guerrilla groups erupted in the Catatumbo region, a key cocaine production hub and criminal hotspot along the Venezuelan border.

The measure will go into effect after a decree is signed by the president and his Cabinet, but it can also be invalidated by Colombia's constitutional court. Internal commotion decrees were used in the early 2000s by the administration of then-President Álvaro Uribe to increase financing for the military through a special war tax.

President Trump has announced a national emergency focused on border security, aiming to curb illegal migration and drug trafficking. The executive orders include plans to end birthright citizenship for certain children of foreign nationals.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas are targeting community leaders and former members of a separate rebel group in the northeastern Catatumbo region, Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said on Sunday,

West Ham have had a £57m bid for Jhon Duran rejected by Aston Villa, who are determined not to sell the 21-year-old Colombia forward valued at £80m this month. (Telegraph - subscription required) Want more transfer stories?

The White House did not describe reasons for reversing Biden's order or whether it expected the move to impact freed prisoners.