Marking a symbolic step for the end of the conflict, a group of rebels have officially laid down their arms, according to UN monitors. The UN said the rebels can formally "begin their reintegration into civilian life."
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/L. Gonzalez
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UN monitors on Friday said a group of rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) formally completed the disarmament process, marking a symbolic step in a peace accord that officially ended the decades-long conflict.
"A first group of 12 members of the FARC received today from the UN mission a certificate of completion of individual disarmament, which allows them to formally begin their reintegration into civilian life," the UN said in a statement.
"Which this event, a continuous process begins to certify the FARC members who are making the transition to civilian life after laying down their arms."
Under the peace agreement, FARC members are expected to participate in voluntary disarmament in exchange for returning to civilian life, where they may pursue their causes through democratic processes, including holding public office.
Roughly 6,800 FARC members remain in "peace zones" across the South American country, where they are handing over their arms in a process observed by more than 500 UN monitors.
Latin America's longest armed conflict comes to an end
The Colombian government has reached a historic truce with FARC, ending over half a century of violence with the leftist group. Latin America's longest conflict claimed at least 220,000 lives.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
How the insurgency started
In 1948, the assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan sparked political chaos in Colombia known as "the violence." Tens of thousands died and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. Later in 1964, a military attack on the insurgency's main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
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What the rebels wanted
FARC's political ideology has never been well defined. Initially, it sought to weaken the oligarchy's grip on power. The rebels also wanted land reforms in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias. However, the group lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping and illegal gold mining for funds.
Image: Reuters
How the US got involved
To help the Colombian security forces fight against the insurgency and to counter drug-trafficking, the US began sending billions of dollars under Plan Colombia. The US State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization and its leaders face US indictments.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
The human cost of the conflict
Latin America's longest-running armed conflict is responsible for the death an estimated 220,000 people, while millions of Colombians have been displaced within their country. According to Bogota’s estimates, there are 7.6 million direct and indirect victims of the conflict. The country has more landmine victims than any country except for Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Escobar Mora
Peace accord after decades of failed attempts
Peace talks between FARC and the government collapsed in the mid 1980s after at least 3,000 allies of FARC's political wing Patriotic Union Party were killed at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. Efforts fell short again in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a senator. The latest round of talks started in 2012 in Havana and culminated on August 24, 2016 with a deal.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Abramovich
50 years of conflict
"We have reached a final, integral and definitive agreement" to end the conflict and build a stable, lasting peace, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a joint statement. In June, the negotiators had already announced a cease-fire agreement and a blueprint for how the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters will demobilize.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
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'Complete peace'
Despite an initial setback during a nationwide referendum, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos pushed the peace accord through congress. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending the half-century-old conflict.
However, critics have slammed the peace deal, saying it is too lenient in offering amnesty for "political crimes." However, rebels who committed torture, rape or massacres are not covered under the peace deal.
FARC rebels launched an insurgency in 1964 in response to the government's brutal repression of a peasant uprising. The brutal conflict left more than 250,000 people dead, seven million displaced and 50,000 disappeared.
It also drew in right-wing paramilitary groups, criminal organizations and other leftist groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN).
In February, the Colombian government opened negotiations with the ELN in a bid to secure a "complete peace" in the wake of the FARC accord.
