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Colombia's FARC rebels begin "final march" to peace transition zones

Xinhua, January 31, 2017 Adjust font size:

Colombia's FARC rebels have begun their "final march" towards designated transition zones, where they will lay down their weapons as part of a peace deal reached with the government, local media reported on Monday.

The mobilization "is the first step in the definitive disarming" that will mark an end to five decades of fighting between FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla and the military, the Caracol News network said.

"Colombia awoke on Monday to images that confirm the end of the armed conflict with the FARC," the agency said, alongside video footage of a boatload of rebels leaving their jungle camps for one of several transition zones around the country.

Nearly 4,400 rebels began the transition move early Saturday, accompanied by representatives from the United Nations and others to help monitor the peace process, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace said in a statement Sunday, noting "the FARC's final march has begun."

"The first rebels set off this weekend, rifle across the shoulder, willing to exchange it for a life of legality, a life of democracy, a different kind of life that will contribute to building peace," the commissioner's office said.

Some of the rebels were traveling "up to seven hours on foot, by bus, truck or boats," the office said, adding the move to the transition zones should be completed "in the next few days."

In an interview with Caracol Radio, FARC leader Marcos Calarca said education and employment were key to having the former rebels successfully transition to a normal life.

"Essentially, the guerrillas are going to be in the zones for the process of re-incorporation in matters of education, training ... and above all the start of productive projects," said Calarca.

In May, he said, FARC was set to transform itself into a legally-founded political party to continue its work to push for social and political reforms.

The Colombian government and FARC signed a cease-fire and disarmament deal in Havana, Cuba on June 23, 2016, bringing Colombia a major step closer to ending the more than 50 years of guerrilla warfare in the country that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Endi