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Colombian government ready to
talk with FARC rebels
The Colombian government is
ready for direct contact with
the rebel group of the
Revolutionary ArmedForces of
Colombia (FARC), a statement
issued by President Alvaro
Uribe's office said Friday.
The government is prepared to
engage in talks with the FARC
without brokers, the
presidential statement said.
Uribe, reelected last year, had
promised to reduce the nation's
violence during his election
campaign.
The FARC, the largest Colombian
guerrilla group, has been
fighting the government since
the mid-1960s. Reports say the
group has some 20,000 fighters.
According to earlier reports,
the Colombian government and the
National Liberation Army (ELN),
the second largest rebel group
after the FARC, will meet in the
Cuban capital Havana at the end
of February for a new round of
peace talks. The ELN-government
peace talks were launched four
years ago.
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