A former senior commander of the dissolved FARC rebel army in Colombia announced on Thursday he is taking up arms again along with other guerrillas who have distanced themselves from a historic peace accord signed with the government.
Veteran Farc (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) leader Rodrigo Londono — known as ‘Timochenko’ — will run for the presidency of Colombia next year, with the backing of former Farc rebels, the group’s new political party announced. However, he and other ex-commanders will likely face trials for human rights crimes and it is unclear how they would serve in office if sentenced.
U.N. observers on Tuesday removed the last of more than 8,000 guns once carried by the guerrillas of Colombia’s largest rebel army and collected at 26 demobilization sites around the South American nation under a historic peace deal. The next phase of the peace deal is for the ex guerrillas to organize politically and run for seats in congressional elections.
Colombia's FARC rebels will officially transform into a political party on September 1, a major step in reintegrating the former guerillas into civilian life as part of a historic peace deal.
Colombia’s government and rebel guerrillas Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to jointly ask the United Nations Security Council to help monitor and verify a future rebel disarmament, should the two sides reach a final peace deal to end their 50-year-old war, crossing a major stepping stone on the road to ending Latin America’s longest-running conflict.
Representatives of Colombia's largest guerrilla movement have asked to meet Pope Francis in Cuba in September and have requested the Catholic Church name a permanent delegate to their peace negotiations with the government.
Colombia's government and Marxist FARC rebels reached a fundamental agreement on the guerrillas' future in politics, one of the thorniest issues addressed in peace talks in Cuba, according to a joint statement.
Colombian Minister of Defence Juan Carlos Pinzón said that security forces will continue with military operations in the country despite the unilateral two-month cease fire declared by the guerrilla group FARC, which becomes effective Monday 24:00 hours.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos rejected a proposal on Thursday by FARC rebels for a bilateral ceasefire during talks next month aimed at bringing an end to half a century of war.