Disarmament Period for Colombia’s FARC Guerrillas Draws to a Close
26 Jun 2017
The civil (or guerrilla) war between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC) and successive Colombian governments led to the death of around 260,000 people and lasted 52 years; millions have been left internally displaced. The peace talks in Cuba that led to the agreement took nearly four years. Even then, the first agreement was voted down in a popular referendum. A revised peace agreement was signed in November 2016 between the Colombian government and FARC, after a vote in the Congress of Colombia. As a part of this deal, the militants were given until 27 June 2017 to hand over their registered weapons. A number of events have been planned to commemorate the highly significant date of 27 June 2017. Indeed, President Santos is due to attend a ceremony in the town of Mesetas, south of Colombia’s capital. The disarmament process has been overseen by the UN Mission in Colombia.
Key Points
The civil (or guerrilla) war between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC) and successive Colombian governments led to the death of around 260,000 people and lasted 52 years; millions have been left internally displaced. The peace talks in Cuba that led to the agreement took nearly four years. Even then, the first agreement was voted down in a popular referendum. A revised peace agreement was signed in November 2016 between the Colombian government and FARC, after a vote in the Congress of Colombia. As a part of this deal, the militants were given until 27 June 2017 to hand over their registered weapons. A number of events have been planned to commemorate the highly significant date of 27 June 2017. Indeed, President Santos is due to attend a ceremony in the town of Mesetas, south of Colombia’s capital. The disarmament process has been overseen by the UN Mission in Colombia.