The Colombian government's human rights ombudsman said on Saturday the death toll from violence in the Catatumbo region had risen to 60, up from a previous tally of 30 from attacks by the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN).

A bloody onslaught by the ELN guerrilla group on rival fighters and civilians in northeast Colombia has risen to 80, the governor of the affected Norte de Santander department said Sunday.

The death toll from rebel-related violence in a key drug trafficking region of Colombia has doubled to 60, the government's human rights ombudsman said on Saturday.