BOGOTA, May 27, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Fighting between rival splinter groups of Colombia's now-defunct FARC guerrilla movement left at least eight dead over the weekend, a military source told AFP on Sunday.

The clashes took place in Colombia's southern Caqueta department between the Carolina Ramirez Front and the Border Command group.

The groups are composed of rebels who rejected Colombia's historic 2016 peace agreement which demobilized the FARC.

The number of people killed "is at least eight," a military source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Dissident FARC factions are engaged in a deadly conflict over control of drug fields, illegal gold mines and lucrative smuggling routes in the world's largest cocaine producer.

The Carolina Ramirez Front is one of the groups under the command of Ivan Mordisco, considered Colombia's most powerful rebel leader, who pulled out of peace talks with the government last month.

The Border Command, active in the border regions with Ecuador, is a splinter of Segunda Marquetalia led by Ivan Marquez, another former FARC senior commander.

Rumored to be dead, Marquez appeared in a video released early this month.