Members of Colombia's government have met with indigenous leaders to try to negotiate an end to a country-wide strike by farmers now in its fifth day.
The meeting in the southwestern province of Cauca came a day after two protesters were killed and dozens more injured in clashes with police. The strike began on Monday and now includes farmers in 20 of Colombia's 32 provinces. Protesters are demanding the government honour rural spending commitments dating from a much longer and deadlier strike in 2013.
Government officials accuse the National Liberation Army, the country's second-largest rebel group, of infiltrating the protests and sparking violence. But the farmers, many of them hailing from long-neglected indigenous communities, are pledging to remain on the streets and block major highways until their demands are met. Among their demands are the handing over of lands and programs to help farmers substitute legal crops for coca.
