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| Colombia President Santos offers truce with Farc | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said that he wants to enter into a bilateral truce with the Farc rebel group on 1 January 2016. | Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said that he wants to enter into a bilateral truce with the Farc rebel group on 1 January 2016. |
| Despite having been engaged in peace talks with the left-wing rebels for almost three years, the government had always refused to declare a ceasefire. | Despite having been engaged in peace talks with the left-wing rebels for almost three years, the government had always refused to declare a ceasefire. |
| The Farc, who have been observing a unilateral ceasefire, have repeatedly called on the government to join them in the truce. | The Farc, who have been observing a unilateral ceasefire, have repeatedly called on the government to join them in the truce. |
| The conflict started in 1964. | The conflict started in 1964. |
| Next step | |
| Speaking at a public event promoting science, Mr Santos called on the Farc and government negotiators "to make the effort so between now and 31 December we can wrap up the fifth point [on the peace agenda], which is how to end the conflict, so that we can declare an internationally monitored bilateral ceasefire from 1 January". | Speaking at a public event promoting science, Mr Santos called on the Farc and government negotiators "to make the effort so between now and 31 December we can wrap up the fifth point [on the peace agenda], which is how to end the conflict, so that we can declare an internationally monitored bilateral ceasefire from 1 January". |
| Mr Santos had in the past refused to enter into a bilateral ceasefire with the rebels arguing that during previous negotiations more than a decade ago, the Farc had used it to re-arm and re-group. | |
| An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the 51-year armed conflict, the longest-running in the Western Hemisphere. | An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the 51-year armed conflict, the longest-running in the Western Hemisphere. |
| Farc and the government negotiators started official peace talks in the Cuban capital, Havana, in November 2012. | |
| Since then, they have reached agreement on the political participation of the rebels, land rights, drug trafficking, and most recently, transitional justice. | |
| Transitional justice - how rebels who have committed crimes will be punished - had been considered one of the thorniest issues on the agenda. | |
| When the two sides announced a deal on the issue on 23 September, President Santos flew to Cuba and shook hands with the Farc leader known as Timochenko. | |
| The president also set a deadline of six months, until 23 March 2016, for the signing of a final peace agreement. | |
| Colombia's armed conflict | |
| •An estimated 220,000 killed | |
| •More than five million internally displaced | |
| •More than seven million registered victims | |
| •About 8,000 Farc rebels continue fighting | |
| Sources: Unit for Attention and Reparation of Victims, Colombian government |