French president meets with leftist rebels in Colombia

French President Francois Hollande, left, shakes hands with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, at the end of a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Hollande is on a final Latin America tour before stepping down in a few months after elections to choose his successor. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

prev next

French President Francois Hollande, left, and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, arrive for a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Hollande is on a final Latin America tour before stepping down in a few months after elections to choose his successor. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

France's President Francois Hollande, right, and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, wave during a visit to a camp of the monitoring and verification mechanism coordinated by the United Nations near where rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, will turn over their weapons to U.N. observer in La Venta, a rural area of Caldono municipality, southern Colombia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) (The Associated Press)

French President Francois Hollande is meeting with leaders of Colombia's largest rebel movement in an area where they will soon begin turning over weapons as part of a historic peace deal.

Hollande arrived Tuesday at a rural camp in southern Colombia run by the United Nations. He was accompanied by President Juan Manuel Santos and top Colombian officials who explained how some 7,000 guerrillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are supposed to disarm over the coming months and begin their transition back to civilian life.

Hollande is expected to meet with a rebel leader during the short visit.

He has expressed support for the peace deal, calling it a model for resolving conflicts around the world.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/french-president-meets-with-leftist-rebels-in-colombia