Voters in Colombia have rejected a landmark peace deal with FARC rebels in a shock referendum result, with 50.24 percent voting against it.

The deal was signed last week by President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez after nearly four years of negotiations.

But it needed to be ratified by Colombians in order to come into force.

Addressing the nation, President Santos said he accepted the result but would continue working to achieve peace, reports the BBC.

He said the current ceasefire remained in place and that he had ordered negotiators to travel to Cuba to consult FARC leaders on the next move.

“I won’t give up,” he said. “I’ll continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate because that's the way to leave a better country to our children.”

Meanwhile, the FARC leader, known as Timochenko, said the group remained committed to securing an end to the war.

The rebels earlier agreed to lay down their weapons after 52 years of conflict to join the political process.

But critics said the deal treated the FARC, which the US still considers a terrorist group, too leniently.

BDST: 0856 HRS, OCT 03, 2016
SR