Colombia’s government and the Marxist FARC rebels said on Saturday they agreed on a revised peace deal to end a 52-year war, six weeks after the original was narrowly rejected in a referendum amid objections it was too favourable to the rebels. President Juan Manuel Santos hopes to unite the divided nation behind the new deal after the peace process was endangered by its rejection in the October plebiscite . Colombian voters were deeply split, with many worried the FARC would not be punished for crimes and others hopeful the deal would cement an end to violence. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at Narino Palace in Bogota on Saturday announcing the signing of the new peace deal. An opposition suggestion that FARC leaders not be allowed to run for office once they have finished their alternative sentences was not debated with the rebels, Santos said.

Source: Hindustan Times November 13, 2016 06:22 UTC