Colombia narrowly rejects peace deal with Farc rebels

Colombia narrowly rejected a peace deal the government had reached with Marxist Farc guerrillas on Sunday, which has thrown the Latin American country into uncertainty.

The referendum was to approve a peace accord signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) to end a 52-year war that had displaced about 7m people and left over 220,000 people dead.

The Yes vote was tipped to win, but the No side won 50.2% of the vote to 49.8%.

Reuters reported that Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos, said in a television address: “I will not give up, I will keep seeking peace until the last minute of my term.”

Farc leader Rodrigo Londano said: "The Farc reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future. Count on us, peace will triumph."

The peace treaty was agreed after four years of negotiations in Cuba in September which included the opportunity of Farc handing their weapons to the United Nations, admit their crimes and form a political party.

The Farc would have therefore been able to stand in the 2018 presidential and legislative elections and have 10 unelected congress seats up to 2026.

The deal drew international support from US president Barack Obama and Pope Francis as the rebel group admitted to trafficking drugs and that it had committed human rights violations.