At least 52 guerrilla fighters have been killed in clashes between two rival armed groups vying for territorial control of a strategic cocaine production and trafficking region in south-east Colombia, a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) involved in the fighting has said.

The clashes, the most violent in recent months, took place in the jungles of the department of Guaviare, near the village of Barranco Colorado.

Pedro Sánchez, the defence minister, confirmed on social media that there had been fighting in the area, as did the army, but neither provided details of the death toll. Sanchez said troops had been deployed to the area to protect the civilian population.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the 52 deaths reported by the Farc.

The fighting took place between a dissident faction of the Farc led by Néstor Gregorio Vera, better known as Iván Mordisco, and another led by Alexander Díaz Mendoza, known as Calarcá Córdoba.

Both rejected a 2016 peace agreement that allowed about 13,000 members of the Farc to lay down their weapons. The guerrilla group led by Diaz Mendoza is involved in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro, but Vera’s faction remains in conflict with authorities after the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire with it in 2024.

Last week, the Farc’s largest dissident group, the Central General Staff, announced a nationwide suspension of its military operations against the country’s public forces between 20 May and 10 June.

The group, however, did not announce a complete suspension of all military activity, meaning confrontations with other armed groups would not be included in its pause of operations.

Rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) also announced a separate ceasefire ahead of the weekend’s election. The armed conflict, which has lasted more than six decades and is financed primarily by drug trafficking and illegal mining, has left more than 450,000 dead and millions displaced.