A convoy of 68 Colombian and foreign aid workers were blocked by thousands of villagers 860 kilometers north of the capital. The villagers accused the air workers of aiding the ELN rebels. The ELN extorts aid from villagers, and kills any it suspects of disloyalty. The rural population is getting tired of this, which accounts for the growth of the AUC. The AUC has been able to protect villagers from the leftist rebels, something the army has not been able to do. Because of this, the FARC and ELN have increasingly joined forces to fight off the AUC. The government has ordered an end to the peace talks with the ELN because of the ELN's insistence that it must have it's own autonomous zone and that the government must suppress the AUC.