Demobilized guerrillas of Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, will begin surrendering their weapons to the United Nations on March 1, the Colombian military said Tuesday.
In a press release, the commander in charge of the transition, General Javier Florez, announced that the disarmament will take place in three stages; 30% on March 1, another 30% on May 1, and the remaining 40% on June 1.
This is later than the original timeline, which stated that by April 30 no FARC guerrillas may be in possession of any type of weapon.
Colombia’s D-Day: FARC’s 180-day demobilization and disarmament process begins
This delay is a consequence of a delay in the demobilization of the FARC whose fighters were to begin demobilizing on December 5, but in some cases still lack basic infrastructure.
Officials have reported that roughly 6,900 members of the FARC have arrived into the special transition zones where their weapons will be turned over to United Nations-sponsored monitors.
The demobilisation has been marred by chaos, bickering and delays.
