BOGOTA, April 6 (Reuters) - Informal miners in northern Colombia have ended more than a month of sometimes-violent protests, agreeing to talks with the government to try and improve labor conditions and formalize their operations, the government said on Thursday.
The protests, which began in early March, have included roadblocks which at one point were affecting hundreds of thousands of residents in two provinces, causing shortages of fuel, food and medicine.
The government has accused major crime gang the Clan del Golfo of inciting violence at the demonstrations and of deadly attacks on security forces, leading President Gustavo Petro to call off a ceasefire with the group.
"The suspension of the miners strike in Bajo Cauca and the northeast of Antioquia is a positive decision of communities taking the reins of their own destiny," Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said on Twitter, adding security forces would remain in the area. Talks will focus on finding technological alternatives for informal gold extraction, the interior ministry said in its own statement, as well as formalization of mining operations and attention for people living in the area. Much of Colombia's gold output comes from either subsistence miners - who scrap a living panning in rivers or working in dangerous tunnels - or illegal operations run by armed groups.
The armed forces destroyed at least 13 excavators during the protests in a bid to hit illegal operators, whose use of heavy equipment and mercury are considered serious threats to the environment.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Marguerita Choy)
