At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

Venezuela sent Russian-made military jets to patrol its border as tens of thousands fled the most intense outbreak of violence in Colombia since its 2016 peace deal.

The Colombian border village of Tres Bocas has become a ghost town as residents flee to neighboring Venezuela to escape a new wave of violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region that has left at least 80 people dead and displaced thousands.

At least 80 people have been killed and more than 18,000 forced to leave their homes in Colombia amid escalating violence between rebel groups. View on euronews