Decades Long Conflict Between Colombian Government And Leftist Rebels To

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Twitter called the announcement “an important step to advancing toward agreement”.

The FARC responded to the calls by re-iniating a unilateral ceasefire to begin on July 20, while Colombian government officials said they were open to considering joining the armstice. The ceasefire would bring much relief to Colombians who have endured oil spills and toppled energy pylons due to the conflict. “By speeding up the negotiations”, he said.

Chile and Venezuela are “escort” countries. All four issued the appeal Tuesday for de-escalation.

Yet the path towards the end of Colombia’s conflict came to an abrupt halt on 15 April, when FARC militants in the department of Cauca killed 11 soldiers and injured 24 others.

The government and the FARC have also asked for a UN delegate and representative from the Union of South American Nations to help start discussions on monitoring the end of the half-century conflict.

The fighters claim that government forces stepped up attacks on rebel camps during its ceasefire.

Since that truce ended, about 30 rebels have been killed in army operations and recent surveys show the public is increasingly wary about the peace process. Marquez said no one could hide the fact that government and FARC had reached three partial agreements, were drafting a new agreement on victims and that the de-mining of certain territories of ordinance and other unexploded devices was underway. The FARC hopes that the government will react to Wednesday’s statement by entering into a bilateral agreement that will stop all confrontations against the guerrillas, a move which, not incidentally, has been backed by the UN.

Colombia’s civil strife dates back to 1964 and has drawn in left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs, killing more than 220,000 people and uprooting as many as 6 million.

The FARC has long advocated a bilateral ceasefire, which the government has rejected saying the group has used previous attempts at such truces to rearm.

In mid-June FARC rebels blew up a section of the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline and set fire to infrastructure in Catatumbo, north-eastern Colombia.

Ariel Ávila, the Coordinator of the independent Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, explained that prior to the ceasefire, there were between 180 and 200 armed actions between the two sides monthly.