FARC ratifies Colombia peace deal

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia declared the end of its 52-year war Friday as it ratified a historic peace deal with the government.

To a burst of applause and cheers, the FARC's chief peace negotiator announced the guerrillas had unanimously backed the agreement at a national conference.

"The war is over," said Ivan Marquez, flanked by top FARC commanders, all dressed in civilian clothes and sitting at an impromptu conference table draped with Colombia's yellow, blue and red flag.

If all goes according to plan, it will be the FARC's last meeting as a guerrilla army. Under the deal, the group is now to relaunch as a political party.

President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono -- better known by his nom de guerre, Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez -- will now sign the accord tomorrow in the Caribbean coast city of Cartagena.

Colombians will then vote on it in a referendum on October 2. Recent polls show the "Yes" camp ahead.

The FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group, launched its war on the Colombian government in 1964, in the aftermath of a brutally repressed peasant uprising.

Over the decades, it has drawn in several leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs, killing 260,000 people, leaving 45,000 missing and forcing 6.9 million to flee their homes.