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No peace deal between Colombian gov't, FARC

Xinhua, March 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Colombian government and leftist FARC rebels have missed the March 23 deadline for a peace deal, negotiators declared on Wednesday in Havana.

There are still significant differences over some issues between the authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Humberto de la Calle, the government's chief negotiator, told reporters.

"We will make all possible efforts to achieve a final deal, but it requires prompt decisions," he said, adding that the government hopes to end the long-running negotiations at an early date.

"Signing a final agreement today (Wednesday) was not possible," said Ivan Marquez, head of the guerrilla delegation.

On Sept. 23, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top FARC leader, Timoleon Jimenez, announced in Havana a six-month timeframe for a final peace agreement in order to end the five-decade-old conflict, which has left 220,000 people dead, 45,000 others missing and around 6 million displaced.

The parties have agreed on agricultural development, political participation of FARC, joint efforts against drug trafficking, as well as reparations to victims of the armed conflicts. Endi