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. The 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. The modified accord also takes foreign magistrates off special peace tribunals, although there will be foreign observers, and stipulates the Farc must turn in exhaustive information about its involvement in the drug trade. Why Colombians voted against peace with the Farc | Isabel Hilton Read moreAn 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: The Guardian November 13, 2016 00:02 UTC