Venezuela army attack on ELN camp kills 19, NGO says

At least 19 people have died after a Venezuelan army attack on a Colombian ELN rebel camp inside Venezuela, an NGO and multiple sources close to the operation said Sunday.

Juan Francisco Garcia, a coordinator for the NGO FundaRedes, said the Friday bombing targeted ELN forces camped in Apure, a Venezuelan state on the border with Colombia. He said nine bodies arrived in San Fernando, the state capital, and another 10 bodies were transported afterward.

Several armed groups operate along the porous 2,200-kilometer border between Venezuela and Colombia, including dissident members of the former FARC and the ELN. The ELN has been among Latin America's most powerful rebel groups since the FARC signed a 2016 peace accord with Colombia's government.

Colombia's government has for years accused Venezuela of granting safe haven to Colombian rebels.