Colombia announces cease-fire with a group that split off from the FARC rebels

By MANUEL RUEDA

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government and one of the nation’s last remaining rebel groups have announced that they will start peace talks next month. The two sides also will enter a 10-month cease-fire that is expected to decrease violence against civilians. The agreement between the Colombian government and the rebel group known as FARC-EMC is a part of President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” strategy. Petro is trying to pacify rural areas of Colombia by negotiating simultaneously with the nation’s remaining rebel factions. The FARC-EMC are a splinter group of the evolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which made peace with the government in 2016.