‘500 observers to monitor Colombia deal’
PressTV- Some 500 observers with the United Nations (UN) will monitor a demobilization and disarmament deal between Colombia’s government and FARC rebels, a Colombian official says. The deal was reached between the Colombian government and FARC — the largest guerrilla group in Colombia — in peace talks in the Cuban capital of Havana on June 23. Under the deal, the rebels would disarm and declare independence as a political party. A comprehensive peace accord is expected within weeks. “Five hundred international monitors from 15 countries will ensure” the ceasefire and disarmament deal once the comprehensive agreement is signed, Columbian Senate President Mauricio Lizcano said after meeting with Jean Arnault, the UN representative to the peace talks, on Wednesday. Fifteen percent of the observers will be European and 85 percent Latin American, Lizcano added. Reports say some further issues of disagreement are yet to be settled between the two sides, including the reinte