Colombian president wins Nobel Peace Prize

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is the winner of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel committee announced this in Oslo, capital of Norway, praising Santos for his efforts to end the 52-year conflict with left-wing rebels.

BREAKING NEWS The 2016 #NobelPrize #Peace is awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos pic.twitter.com/7OhiCruc1o

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2016

Advertisement

After four years of negotiations, Santos was able to secure a peace deal with Farc guerillas.

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end,” Kaci Kullmann Five, committee chairwoman, said.

Colombians rejected the deal in a referendum conducted last weekend.

Voters said the deal signed by Santos and Timoleon Jimenez, Farc leader was a mere formality.

But the Nobel committee said despite the shock result of the referendum, Santos brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful resolution.

The committee also praised Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his final day as president.

At least 260,000 people have been killed, while more than six million have been internally displaced as a result of the insurrection of Farc rebels.