Colombian authorities are blaming ELN guerillas in a wave of armed attacks on security forces in Arauca department—including the Dec. 18 ambush of an army patrol that left two soliders dead at Saravena. The ELN is also suspected in a spate of other recent attacks around the country—including a Dec. 29 blast at a power station at Torca, north of Bogotá, that left one National Police officer dead. (El Tiempo, Radio Caracol, Radio Caracol, Dec. 29; El Tiempo, Radio Caracol, Dec. 27; AFP, Dec. 19) The attacks come days after Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas warned that the window for initiating peace talks with the ELN "will not be open forever." (El Espectador, Dec. 23) In a year-end communique, the ELN blamed the government for the "difficult and anti-peace climate," especially in its refusal to accept a bilateral ceasefire. But it said the ELN remains committed to opening peace talks, and will meet again with a government delegation Jan. 10 in Quito. (El Tiempo, Dec. 26)

Colombia's Congress on Dec. 28 approved the Amnesty Law as part of the peace process between the government and the FARC rebel army, protecting guerilla fighters from prosecution over most crimes related to the conflict. The bill passed the lower house with 117 votes in favor and three against, while the Senate approved it with a unanimous 69 votes. Lawmakers aligned with far-right former president, Sen. Alvaro Uribe refused to participate in the vote. Human rights absues and "grave" war crimes recognized by the Rome Statute are excluded from the amnesty. The measure creates a special "transitional justice" system for combatants accused of such offenses. (Jurist, Dec. 29; TeleSur, EFE, Dec. 28)

A court in Russia has sentenced Alexei Kungurov, a 38-year-old blogger from Tyumen, Western Siberia, to two-and-a-half years in prison for "justification of terrorism" over a blog post he wrote in October 2015, after Moscow launched its military intervention in Syria. In the post, Kungurov vehemently criticized Russia's intervention, saying he sought to "debunk" several "myths" created by "Putin's regime" and delivered to the public through the "zombie-boxes" of pro-Kremlin media. Rather than fighting terrorists in Syria, Kungurov argued, Russia was "helping them."

Human Rights Watch has issued an urgent call for Libya's government to protect civilians who were detained after fleeing former ISIS stronghold Sirte. "Libyan authorities should ensure the safety of and urgently provide medical care for more than 120 women and children being held in a Misrata prison after recently fleeing fighting in Sirte," the statement said. Sirte was announced cleared of ISIS fighters by forces allied with Libya's unity government after seven months of fighting. ISIS had seized Sirte in June 2015. After evacuating the city, Libyan authorities detained a number of civilians suspected of ISIS links. Although the majority of the detainees are Libyans, others are from Tunisia, Iraq, Chad, Syria, Eritrea and Niger. Some of the women are believed to have been abducted by ISIS fighters. HRW said authorities have "an obligation to ensure the well-being and security of the women and children" and should not detain them on the basis of suspected relationships to ISIS fighters. HRW urged the government to work with the UN and aid agencies to "find safe destinations for those detained and treat them for injuries, illness, and malnourishment." (HRW, AFP, Dec. 25)

Kurdish forces will have to hand over control of their enclave of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo to the Damascus regime by the end of the year, according to an Assad military advisor. The statement from the advisor, named as Ali Maqsud, was reported in a Dec. 22 tweet from independent Kurdish news agency Rudaw. After Syrian victory in eastern Aleppo, the government will take control of the whole city, Ali Maqsud told Rudaw. The Syrian government will prompt the People's Protection Units (YPG) to hand over their positions in the city to the Syrian army, he said. The ultimatum came as the Damascus regime announced that it is now in control of all Aleppo after the last civilians and rebel fighters were evacuated the eastern neighborhoods.

Bill Weinberg fights the post-truth plague by taking down fiction-spewing bloviators whether of the left or right—starting with Jimmy Dore of  "Aggressive Progressive" vlog.

Alarmed at the "devastating" humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, where thousands of civilians remain trapped, the Security Council Dec. 19 called on the United Nations to carry out "neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations from the eastern districts" of the war-ravaged city. The unanimously adopted resolution requested immediate deployment of staff for monitoring and reporting on the evacuations. The French-led resolution also calls on all parties to respect and protect all medical and humanitarian personnel, "their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities throughout the country." The vote came as thousands of civilians awaited resumption of evacuations.

Despite advances for the peace process with the FARC rebels, the wave of assassinations of social leaders across Colombia by presumed paramilitary hitmen remains unabated. On Dec. 12, a team of two hitmen mounted on a motorcycle gunned down Guillermo Veldaño, president Communal Action Junta in the vereda (hamlet) of Buenos Aires, Puerto Asís municipality, Putumayo department. Veldaño was a local leader of the leftist Marcha Patriótica movement, which has been especially targeted for terror. (El Espectador, Dec. 12) That same day, campesino leader Eder Magones was slain when the moto-taxi he was riding in was ambushed by sicarios in Tiquisio, Bolívar department. (El Espectador, Dec. 12)