Colombia to sign ceasefire with last guerrilla group ahead of Pope Francis visit

Sep 05, 2017

BOGOTA: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says the government will sign a bilateral ceasefire with the nation’s last remaining major rebel group ahead of Pope Francis’s visit this week.

Santos says the agreement will be signed later Monday in Quito, Ecuador, where negotiations with the National Liberation Army have been taking place since February. The ceasefire takes effect on October 1.

Santos says the agreement will initially run through to January 12 and can be renewed as the peace talks advance.

Last year the government reached a peace deal with the much larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.--Catholic Herald