Colombia's government, rebels sign modified peace agreement
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HAVANA- Colombia's government and its largest rebel group signed a new, modified peace accord on Saturday following the surprise rejection of an earlier deal by voters in a referendum.
Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle and rebel negotiator Luciano Marin, alias Ivan Marquez, signed the deal in Cuba, moving to end to a half-century-long conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives.
Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia inked an initial peace deal on Sept. 26 amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations. But voters rejected it on Oct. 2 by just 55,000 votes, dealing a stunning setback to Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia's conflict.
Santos immediately began looking for ways to rescue the deal and the sides extended a cease-fire until Dec. 31 to get the modified deal done. The rebels insisted they wouldn't go back to the drawing board and throw out years of arduous negotiations with the government.
