Colombia Farc rebels announce definitive ceasefire

The Farc has been fighting since 1964 in a conflict that has displaced millions (AFP)

The main leftist rebel group in Colombia, the Farc, has ordered all its fighters to observe a ceasefire from midnight local time (05:00 GMT Monday).

The ceasefire brings to an end the group's 52-year-old war, one of the world's longest insurgencies, after four years of peace talks in Cuba.

The final peace agreement will be signed in the next few weeks.

Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, known as Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, gave the order to stop firing.

"I order all our commanders and units and each one of our combatants to definitively cease fire and hostilities against the Colombian state from midnight tonight," Timochenko told reporters.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree earlier to halt military operations against the Farc, also from midnight.

"The end of the conflict has arrived!" he said in a tweet on Friday.

A peace agreement was announced on Wednesday in Havana, at the peace talks.

Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, better known under his alias of Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, announced the start of the ceasefire in Havana (PA)

Farc fighters will ratify the accord in September and a Colombian referendum on the agreement will follow on 2 October.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Farc (the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) will give up its armed struggle and join the legal political process.

In March Colombia announced the start of peace negotiations with the second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), but the rebels have yet to meet the government's precondition of releasing all of their hostages and stop all kidnapping.

The Farc's 52-year fight

1. 1964: Set up as armed wing of Communist Party
2. 2002: At its height, with an army of 20,000 fighters controlling up to a third of the country
3. 2008: The group's worst year, when it suffered a series of bitter defeats
4. 2012: Start of peace talks in Havana
5. 2016: Definitive ceasefire