Residents of Colombia’s troubled Catatumbo region, near the eastern border with Venezuela, are weighing whether to return home after attacks by a rebel group displaced at least 50,000 people over several weeks.

The government has accused rebels from the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) of targeting former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and civilian community leaders in a series of attacks in Catatumbo, a hub for drug trafficking and other crimes.

The escalation of violence prompted President Gustavo Petro to suspend peace negotiations with the ELN, curtailing a key part of his plan to end a six-decade internal conflict.

The ELN has denied attacking civilians.

Some 53,000 people have been displaced, the defence ministry has said, with more than 6,000 living in shelters. Fifty-two people have died according to the ministry, though local authorities have given a total of 80.