Colombia announcing halt to bombings of FARC rebel camps

(Vatican Radio) Colombia’s President, Juan Manuel Santos, announced Tuesday night that he was ordering an immediate suspension of aerial bombings of guerrilla camps belonging to the FARC, the nation’s largest rebel group. The government has been holding peace talks with the Marxist group since 2012 in Havana, Cuba.

Listen to our report:  

"In regards to the indefinite, unilateral ceasefire declared by the FARC on December 18, we must recognise that they have fulfilled it," Santos said in a televised address.

The president said the ban on aerial bombings would be tried provisionally for one month, and be extended if the FARC continues to observe their ceasefire.

Santos added that aerial raids against the country’s second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, would continue unless they decided to join the peace process.

The government and the FARC have already reached agreements on land reform, participation in politics for ex-rebels, and a joint strategy to curb drug trafficking. The two sides announced this week a joint effort to remove unexploded land mines.

But several issues remain, including a rebel demand that leaders not be sent to jail for the atrocities committed by troops under their command.

More than 200,000 people, mostly civilians, are thought to have been killed during the five-decade long conflict.