The Colombian government and the country's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN) have announced that they would launch formal peace negotiations on 27th of this month in Ecuador's capital Quito.<br/> <br/>The announcement of an open phase in the negotiations was made in Venezuela, which will be one of the guarantors of the process. The others will be Norway, Cuba, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador.<br/> <br/>The move comes as welcome news for President Juan Manuel Santos, fresh from his Nobel Peace Prize win. Mr Santos is trying to salvage a peace accord with the country's largest rebel group – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which was rejected by voters earlier this month.<br/> <br/>Half a century conflict in Colombia has killed more than 260,000 people, left 45,000 missing and uprooted nearly seven million.