FARC ends ceasefire in Colombia after 26 rebels killed

BOGOTA, May 22 (UPI) -- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced an end to a five months-long unilateral ceasefire with the Colombian government after 26 rebels were killed in a government air and ground offensive on Thursday.

The leftist rebel group said in a statement it called for an end to the ceasefire after months of "land and air offensives against our structures all over the country."

"We deplore the joint attack by the Air Force, the army and the police," the statement said, but adding that the group is willing to continue with peace talks currently taking place in Havana, Cuba.

"We must stop this bloodshed," the statement continued.

Thursday's airstrike took place in the Cauca region of western Colombia, a FARC stronghold. The area is also a key location in drug trafficking, Voice of America reported.

FARC declared a unilateral ceasefire in December with the hopes that President Juan Manuel Santos would agree to suspend military action. He lifted an airstrike suspension against the guerrilla group in April after they were suspected of killing 10 soldiers.

Peace talks between FARC and the government have been going on in Cuba since 2012. About 220,000 people have died in the 50-year-old conflict.