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            Colombian Government, FARC to Launch Peace Talks in Oslo

   by VOA News

   Representatives of the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed
   Forces of Colombia [FARC] rebels are meeting Wednesday in Oslo for
   peace talks aimed at ending Latin America's oldest insurgency.
   The talks in the Norwegian capital are the first between the two sides
   in a decade. They are expected to set the stage for a second phase of
   negotiations to take place in Cuba, which will focus on such issues as
   political rights and drug trafficking.
   Cuba and Norway are serving as mediators for the talks.
   Colombia and FARC rebels have engaged in a bloody civil war that has
   claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over five decades. Since 1964,
   the militant group has carried out attacks on security forces and
   political kidnappings in its battle against the government.
   The rebel group has suffered major defeats, however, since the start of
   a U.S.-backed counterinsurgency effort in 2000.
   The last talks between the government and FARC collapsed in 2002.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/colombian_government_and_farc_to_cond
   uct_peace_talks/1528094.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/colombian_government_and_farc_to_conduct_peace_talks/1528094.html