The National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia's second largest rebel forces, has accepted an offer from Venezuela for peace talks with the government, local media reported on Friday.

A statement from the rebels' central command said the ELN "gratefully accepts the offer of the government and the people of Venezuela."

The ELN understands that "it is with the solidarity among the peoples and nations of the world that we can build a different future for humanity," said the statement, dated Sept. 16.

The Colombian government, which had agreed on peace talks with rebel groups in the country, did not made immediate comments on holding talks in Venezuela.

Earlier this month, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said peace talks between the ELN and the Colombian government could be held in his country.

The ELN, which has been battling a succession of elected governments in this South American nation for four decades, has been accused of numerous atrocities. The number of its fighters has decreased in recent years to about 3,500 while the country's main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, now has about 13,000 fighters.

Colombia has been locked in a four-decade civil war, the longest in Latin America, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries fight one another.

The conflicts kill more than 3,000 people every year.

Source: Xinhua