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Colombia Orders Halt to Airstrikes on FARC


FILE Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) peace negotiators and Members of Colombia's government negotiating team give a joint statement in Havana, Cuba, June. 4, 2015.
FILE Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) peace negotiators and Members of Colombia's government negotiating team give a joint statement in Havana, Cuba, June. 4, 2015.

Colombia's president ordered a halt Saturday to air raids on the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"This will mean fewer deaths, less suffering and fewer victims," Juan Manuel Santos said.

The rebels initiated a cease-fire last Monday.

Colombia and the Marxist-inspired rebels are engaged in peace talks in Havana after a more than 50-year internal armed conflict. Latin America's oldest insurgency has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions.

In March, Colombia suspended bombings against the FARC but resumed them after the rebels broke the ceasefire in April, killing 10 soldiers.

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