FARC Includes Over 5,700 Members to Be Reintegrated Following Peace Deal

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group has over 5,700 members who will need to be disarmed and reintegrated now that a peace deal has been signed with the Colombian government, the head of the subcommittee to end the conflict, Javier Florez, said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Florez said as quoted by El Comercio on Wednesday that although "in intelligence reports" show "a little less than 6,200 members in the ranks of the FARC," the number "matches the figure given by this group" to the United Nations, which is 5,756.

On Monday, the formal signing of a peace agreement between the FARC and the Colombian government took place in the Colombian city of Cartagena. Representatives of the European Union, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attended the ceremony.

The United Nations will monitor the disarmament and reintegration of FARC fighters.

FARC was formed in 1964 as the military wing of Colombia's Communist Party. The half-century war between the FARC and the Colombian government claimed the lives of a quarter of a million people. The two sides began peace talks in November 2012.