Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has extended a ceasefire with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) through the end of the year in order to give more time for a peace deal rejected by voters.
Santos made the announcement about the extension with Colombia’s largest rebel group during a televised speech on Thursday.
The original ceasefire, which was put in place in August, was nullified when the peace accord was narrowly rejected in a referendum earlier this month.
This came after President Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to clinch the deal, heard proposals from representatives of those who voted against the agreement.
Santos said he decided to further extend the ceasefire after meeting with students who are demanding that the ceasefire be implemented despite its failure at the polls.
“One of the students reminded me, that in the army and in the guerrilla ranks, there are young people waiting to see what happens, hoping that they don’t need to fire another shot,” Santos said in the televised address, adding, “For that reason, and at the request of the students, I have taken the decision to extend the ceasefire until Dec. 31.”
On Wednesday, thousands of people marched in the Colombian capital Bogota to voice support for the peace deal between the government and FARC rebels. Students and victims of the decades-long war also took part in the march.
Read More: presstv
