More than 80 people were killed following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army.

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

The unusually deadly violence delivers a devastating blow to the “total peace” program of the country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

Colombia has suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, for second time in less than a year after blaming the rebel group for violence that has been affecting a northeastern region of the country in recent days.

Over 80 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in escalating violence between armed groups as the border city of Cucuta scrambled Wednesday to cope with thousands of civilians fleeing the violence.

It is the second time in less than a year that Colombian authorities halt peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, after blaming the rebel group for recent violence in the northeastern region of Tibu.

Clashes between armed groups in Colombia have led to some of the worst violence in the country in years. By Julie Turkewitz Reporting from Bogotá, Colombia At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,

More than 8,000 civilians fled the violence, with many seeking shelter in government facilities or hiding in the mountains.