The accord ends a five-decade-long war which saw the group use kidnapping
ransoms and cocaine money to fund its campaign.
Colombia's
government has agreed a peace deal with leftist rebels to end one of the
world's longest-running conflicts.
The
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will lay down arms and
reintegrate into civilian life under the historic agreement, which brings to an
end a war that began in the 1960s and once threatened the country's
existence.
More than 220,000 people were killed in the conflict,
tens of thousands disappeared and millions fled their homes to escape the
violence.
The accord,
which was finalised after nearly four years of talks in Cuba, sparked
celebrations in parks and bars in Colombian capital Bogota.
The deal will
now be voted on in a referendum on 2 October.
Analysis: Big Questions
Remain About Colombia Peace Deal
"Today I
can say - from the bottom of my heart - that I have fulfilled the mandate that
you gave me," said President Juan Manuel Santos, who was re-elected in
2014 after promising a peace deal.
"Colombians:
the decision is in your hands. Never before have our citizens had within their
reach the key to their future," he said in a televised address.
Polls suggest
Colombians will back the deal, but Mr Santos - who has staked his legacy on
peace - will face fierce opposition from powerful sectors of the country who
believe the only solution is to finish the FARC militarily.
Two former
presidents oppose the accord, including the popular right-wing hardliner Alvaro
Uribe.
Under the
agreement, the FARC will have non-voting representation in Congress until 2018
and can take part in elections.
From then on,
the 7,000 former rebels will have to win votes like any other party, Mr Santos
said.
"We have
won the most beautiful of all battles" lead FARC negotiator Ivan Marquez
said after the announcement in Havana.
"The war
with arms is over, now begins the debate of ideas."
The FARC took
up arms in 1964 to battle against deep economic and social inequalities and,
funded by the cocaine trade and ransoms for kidnapping, swelled to as many as
17,000 fighters at the end of the 1990s.
At one point,
the rebels controlled large swathes of the country.
FARC abducted
ranchers, politicians and soldiers and often held them for years in jungle
prison camps.
Its captives
included former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US military
contractors, who were rescued in 2008.
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