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The Colombian government suspended peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) following an attack by the rebel group earlier this week, in what is another setback for leftist President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to end the country’s decades-long conflict, Agence France-Presse reported.

On Tuesday, authorities accused the ELN of firing rockets from a truck parked near a military base in the country’s eastern Arauca province. The attack killed two soldiers and injured 29 others.

The group did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Even so, Petro said the incident “closes the peace process with blood.” Government negotiators added that the talks have been “suspended” and can only be restarted if the armed group shows “an unequivocal demonstration of its desire for peace.”

The attack comes a month after the ELN ended a ceasefire deal it signed with the Colombian government last year. Although the group has continued attacks against Colombia’s security forces, it was still involved in peace talks aimed at ending more than 50 years of fighting, according to the Associated Press.

The suspension of negotiations deals another blow to Petro’s policy of “total peace” with the country’s rebel groups. Since taking office in 2022, the president has been engaged in peace talks with multiple armed groups.

The ELN remains the largest armed group still active in the South American country since the government signed a peace deal with the much larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016.

The deal with FARC was aimed at ending the long-running conflict, but holdout FARC splinter groups and the ELN have refused to engage in peace deals.

Efforts by prior Colombian governments to reach a peace agreement with the ELN have failed. The armed group is believed to have between 5,800 and 6,000 fighters, and primarily finances itself through narco-trafficking and illegal gold mines.