Bogotá, February 3 (RHC-PL) -- The Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) has called for the conclusion of agreements between the military commanders of the guerrilla group and the Colombian armed conflict to reduce and prevent victimization of civilians.

Seeking agreements to prevent further bloodshed and unnecessary deaths while awaiting a bilateral cease-fire was stressed in a message signed by the top leader of the rebel ELN, Nicolas Rodriguez, in Bogotá Monday.

In the text published on the ELN website (http://www.eln-voces.com/), the leader of the guerrilla group suggested basic consensus be reached between the two parties to prohibit camping in schools, villages or other places that placed the the people as a shield.

In addition, he proposed not suppressing or torturing people to get information about the insurgency and refrain from restricting food and medicines to communities during punitive operations.

The war has left tens of thousands dead in the course of more than half a century, according to official reports. The guerrilla movement and the government outlined an agenda of issues to begin formal talks aimed at finding a negotiated solution to the war, preceded by exploratory phase approximations.