{"id":13558,"date":"2016-10-14T10:52:11","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T10:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=13558"},"modified":"2016-10-14T10:52:11","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T10:52:11","slug":"colombia-extends-ceasefire-with-farc-rebels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/colombia-extends-ceasefire-with-farc-rebels.html","title":{"rendered":"Colombia extends ceasefire with FARC rebels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colombia extends ceasefire with FARC rebels<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Colombia extends ceasefire<\/strong>\u00a0with FARC rebels:-<\/strong> Nobel Peace Prize winner and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has extended a ceasefire with FARC rebels in a bid to keep alive his nation’s hopes for an end to decades of strife.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ceasefire was due to expire at the end of October. President Santos has extended it until the end of the year as he tries to breathe new life into a peace deal that was narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum earlier this month.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I have made the decision to extend the bilateral ceasefire until the December 31,” Santos said, according to state-run news agency reports.<\/span>
\nSantos, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to cement an agreement, is attempting to end the rebel group’s bloody, 52-year battle against the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict which has brought terror, <\/span>misery and death to generations of Colombians — and displaced as many as 5 million people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The armed guerrilla group seized territory, attacked government forces and pulled off high-profile kidnappings.<\/span>
\nThe FARC also hijacked planes and made millions trafficking cocaine, as well as forcing children to become soldiers in its war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace deal rejected in close referendum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Last month, after lengthy talks, rebel leaders signed a peace accord with the government which was then narrowly rejected by the people of Colombia in a referendum.<\/span><\/p>\n

After that defeat, Santos pledged to press ahead with peace efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I hear those that said ‘no’ and those that said ‘yes’ and we all want peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tomorrow we will get all our political parties together to continue dialogues and finding alternatives for peace. I will not give up, I will continue to fight for peace,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Santos said in a televised address Thursday that his decision to extend the ceasefire had come at the request of students he met with earlier in the day, the state-run Canal Institucional news agency reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In the military, in the guerrillas, there are young people who are waiting, diligently waiting, to see what happens, hoping to never have to shoot again,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former president opposed FARC deal<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Although last month’s peace deal had overwhelming international support, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez took a leading role in the campaign against it.<\/span><\/p>\n

He argued that the deal offered impunity to FARC fighters and accused his successor, Santos, of conceding to FARC demands.<\/span><\/p>\n

FARC leader Rodrigo Londo\u00f1o <\/span>Echeverri, said the referendum result would not sway former rebels from the path of peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2016\/10\/14\/americas\/colombia-farc-ceasefire\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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