HAVANA: Colombia's government and the FARC guerrilla force say they will sign a definitive ceasefire Thursday, one of the last steps toward ending Latin America's longest civil war.
The move heralds an end to a half-century conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the jungles of the major cocaine-producing country.
"We have successfully reached an agreement for a definitive bilateral ceasefire and end to hostilities," the two sides said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The deal resolves one of the final points in peace talks between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group.
"On Thursday, June 23, we will announce the last day of the war," FARC commander Carlos Lozada tweeted.
The deal is set to be formally launched Thursday at a ceremony with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC commander Timoleon Jimenez, the statement said.
Foreign leaders and officials including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would attend the ceremony early on Thursday afternoon, it added.
Santos said this week he hopes to seal a full peace deal by July 20.
"Tomorrow will be a great day!" he wrote on Twitter Wednesday. "We are working for a Colombia at peace, a dream that is starting to become a reality."
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