Colombian rebels announce final conference of peace talks

  • 2/5/2023
  • 16:08
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BOGOTA, Colombia, Dhu-AlQa'dah 24, 1437, Aug 27, 2016, SPA -- Top commanders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are preparing to gather one final time to ratify a peace accord reached this week with government negotiators and map out its political strategy without weapons, AP reported. "The historic importance of this event merits the people of Colombia and the world see firsthand the development and conclusions of what will be the last conference of our armed organization," the FARC said in a statement Saturday inviting media to cover the 10th conference. The summit will take place Sept. 13-19 in jungled surroundings of San Vicente del Caguan, an area where the rebels have long been dominant and which was the center of a Switzerland-sized demilitarized zone ceded to the FARC during the last serious attempt at peace more than a decade ago. Some 200 delegates are expected to attend including 29 members of the FARC's central command, a top decision-making body. Several foreign dignitaries it didn't name are also invited. The 297-page peace accord reached this week in Cuba seeks to bring an end to Latin America's oldest guerrilla war, which has caused more than 220,000 deaths and driven 5 million people from their homes over five decades of bloody warfare. As part of the deal, FARC members must turn over their weapons within six months after the deal is formally signed and instead seek to persuade skeptical Colombians that it's ready to play by the rules of democracy. -- SPA 23:30 LOCAL TIME 20:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w

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