Revised Colombian peace pact to be signed on Thursday

The Colombian government and FARC rebels have agreed to sign a revised peace agreement on Thursday in Bogota.

The revised pact has incorporated changes sought by those who had voted down the original document in the October 2 referendum, Efe news reported on Wednesday.

It would be subject to ratification by the Congress, the negotiators said on Tuesday after a meeting.

President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC Commander Rodrigo Londoño Echeverry, better known as Timochenko, would sign the accord at Teatro Colon, here, said a joint statement.

"The consolidation of peace requires that we advance firmly toward the implementation of the accords allowing us to surmount so many years of conflict in Colombia," the statement said.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has battled a succession of Colombian governments since 1964.

Colombia's civil war - involving the army, the FARC and other guerrilla groups as well as rightist paramilitaries - has claimed at least 220,000 lives and displaced millions of people.

--IANS

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