Colombia extends suspension of anti-FARC air raids

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday he was extending the suspension of air raids on the leftist FARC guerrillas to accelerate peace talks aimed at ending the five-decade war.
Santos first announced a month-long suspension of bombing raids on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on March 10, saying he wanted to "de-escalate" the conflict.
The suspension partially reciprocated the FARC's declaration of an indefinite, unilateral ceasefire on December 17 -- both greeted as significant advances in the peace negotiations the two sides have been holding since November 2012.
Santos said that since the FARC had upheld their ceasefire, he was extending the suspension of air raids for another month, and would continue to do so as long as the ceasefire held.
"We hope this continues to bring us closer to peace," he said.
But, he added, "as I've said repeatedly, we're not going to renounce bombing raids if we see an imminent threat."
The announcement came as Colombians held nationwide marches for peace that drew thousands of people calling for an end to the conflict, which has killed 220,000 people and uprooted more than five million since the FARC was founded in 1964.
Santos and Bogota's Mayor Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla, lit a "flame of peace" at the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation in the capital. It will remain lit until a final peace deal is signed, officials said.
The peace talks in the Cuban capital Havana have yielded partial deals on several issues, but a definitive peace accord remains elusive.
The rebels have long demanded a bilateral ceasefire, but Santos has refused, saying a final peace deal must come first.
When Santos first announced the suspension of air raids, the FARC called it a measure of "dubious generosity" that could subject them to "monthly blackmail" going forward.
The FARC today has some 8,000 fighters, according to government estimates.
The government has also held preliminary talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), a smaller rebellion of about 2,500 fighters, but they have yet to begin a formal peace process.