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HAVANA. — The ceasefire deal signed between the Colombian government and the largest rebel group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) won worldwide praise on Thursday, as it brings the country’s half-century civil war closer to an end. The Colombian government and FARC on Thursday signed a historic ceasefire deal at a ceremony in Havana, which was attended by world dignitaries including Latin American heads of state and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Before the signing of the deal, the Colombian government and the rebel guerrilla group held more than three years of fraught talks in Cuba.

“Today is a historic day for Colombia after more than 50 years of deaths and confrontations,” said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The agreement sets up mechanisms for FARC to disarm and its transition toward the status of a political party or movement, although the disarmament process will not begin until a definitive peace treaty is signed. — Xinhua.