Colombia rebuffs truce with rebels

Colombia’s government has rebuffed a unilateral truce declared by the country’s largest rebel group, saying conditions demanded by the guerrillas are unacceptable until a peace deal is reached.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said it would lay down its weapons for an unlimited period to bolster peace talks that have been held in Cuba for the past two years.

But Latin America’s oldest and strongest insurgency also said it would call off the ceasefire if its units were attacked by Colombia’s US-backed military — a condition that appears to have doomed the gesture given the government’s long-standing refusal to enter a bilateral truce for fear it would give the rebels time to re-arm.