Colombia government, FARC urge UN to monitor truce

The Colombian government and the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC have urged the UN to oversee the end of the decades-long conflict in the South American country. The negotiators from both sides attending the peace talks in Cuba’s capital Havana said they would call for a 12-month mission to monitor any ceasefire as well as the disarmament of the guerrilla group. They say the mission will guarantee a genuine and permanent ceasefire and disarmament. The FARC and government negotiators started official peace talks in Cuba in November 2012. The two sides say they hope to reach a peace accord by March 2016. The conflict which broke out in the 1960s has left over 220-thousand people dead and displaced some six million others.