Havana, Cuba: The Colombian government and FARC rebels reached a deal on Saturday on searching for the thousands missing and presumed dead in their decades-long conflict, in a further step toward peace, diplomats said.
The fighting between the two sides has killed more than 220,000 people and uprooted six million since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was launched in 1964 in the turbulent aftermath of a peasant uprising.
But Bogota and the leftist guerillas began peace talks in the Cuban capital Havana in November 2012 and announced a major breakthrough last month.
It also sets up a special unit to focus on the task with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, he added.
Norwegian diplomat Dag Nylander said the unit would strengthen and streamline the process for identifying remains, as well as coordinate and speed up the search and identification process.
Bogota and the rebels agreed to share information about those missing and where unidentified victims have been buried, the diplomats said.
Experts hailed the move as a milestone and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos vowed that the two sides would sign a definitive peace deal within six months.
The FARC, the largest leftist guerrilla group still active in Colombia, has an estimated 7,000 fighters.
The fighting between the two sides has killed more than 220,000 people and uprooted six million since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was launched in 1964 in the turbulent aftermath of a peasant uprising.
But Bogota and the leftist guerillas began peace talks in the Cuban capital Havana in November 2012 and announced a major breakthrough last month.
It also sets up a special unit to focus on the task with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, he added.
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Norwegian diplomat Dag Nylander said the unit would strengthen and streamline the process for identifying remains, as well as coordinate and speed up the search and identification process.
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Bogota and the rebels agreed to share information about those missing and where unidentified victims have been buried, the diplomats said.
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Experts hailed the move as a milestone and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos vowed that the two sides would sign a definitive peace deal within six months.
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The FARC, the largest leftist guerrilla group still active in Colombia, has an estimated 7,000 fighters.
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