Accessibility links

Breaking News

Colombia's FARC Announce Cease-Fire, Begin Peace Talks


Ivan Marquez, right, and Ricardo Tellez, members of the negotiation team for Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, wave as they arrive for peace talks in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.
Ivan Marquez, right, and Ricardo Tellez, members of the negotiation team for Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, wave as they arrive for peace talks in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.
Colombia's leftist FARC rebels have announced a two-month unilateral cease-fire as the rebel group and Colombian government resumed peace talks in Havana.
FARC said it would halt all military operations and acts of sabotage through January 20.
FARC lead negotiator Ivan Marquez said the move was aimed at strengthening the "climate of understanding" needed for the talks.
The Colombian government says military operations against the rebels will continue. Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon says history shows the rebels have never kept their word. The government says it wants to reach an agreement with the rebels in a matter of months, not years.
Peace talks began in Norway last month. They are the first negotiations since 2002.
Since 1964, civil war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Colombia.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG