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Ceasefire takes effect in Colombia after 52 years

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Update: 2016-08-29 02:07:38
Ceasefire takes effect in Colombia after 52 years Photo Courtesy: BBC

DHAKA: A ceasefire has come into effect in Colombia between the main leftist rebel group and the government, ending one of the world’s longest insurgencies.

The ceasefire at midnight local time (05:00 GMT Monday) came after four years of peace talks in Cuba between the Farc and the government.

The final agreement on ending the 52-year-old war will be signed next month.

Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, known as Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, gave the order to stop firing.

“Never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war,”' Timochenko told journalists. “All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past,” he said, reports the BBC.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree earlier to halt military operations against the Farc, also from midnight.

“One of the country’s most painful chapters” was coming to an end, he said in a tweet on Sunday, calling the ceasefire a “historic step”.

BDST: 1156 HRS, AUG 29, 2016
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