Colombia Farc: Celebrations after ceasefire ends five decades of war

Colombians are celebrating the signing of a ceasefire by the government and the Farc rebel movement, which ended 50 years of civil war. In the capital, Bogota, people took to the streets, hugging each other and singing the national anthem.

The announcement is seen as one of the last steps before a full peace deal is signed, which is expected within weeks. The longest-running insurgency in the Western hemisphere left some 220,000 people dead and millions displaced.

Thursday's announcement in Havana caps formal peace talks that started three years ago in the Cuban capital. But it does not mark the start of the ceasefire, which will only begin with the signing of a final accord.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has previously said he hopes to sign that by the end of July.

The Farc in the 21st Century is a strange beast. Gone is the bipolar vision of the Cold War, and gone too are most of the group's original intellectual architects, many killed in combat.

Today, somewhat anchorless, the rebels continue to go through motions of an armed insurgency but they know a new future is beckoning.

They remain primed for war - machine guns by their beds, handguns under their pillows, all night lookouts keeping watch for an enemy that no longer seems to be searching for them, BBC reports.