Thousands of Colombians march to save peace deal with rebels

Colombia: Thousands of Colombians on Wednesday marched through Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, long into the night carrying candles and waving white flags demanding that Colombia's political establishment and leftist rebels should not give up on a peace deal narrowly rejected by voters.

The ``March for Peace'' was organized on social media by student groups and social movements that were on the losing end in Sunday's national referendum.

Many demonstrators walked silently, while some carried pictures of their loved ones who were among the 220,000 killed during the 50-year conflict involving the military, leftist rebels and right-wing militias.

``Peace can't be delayed forever,'' said one demonstrator, Carlos Charry, 37, a sociologist.

``It's time everyone understands that we can't keep repeating the same mistakes of the past 52 years.''

The march comes as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos embarked on talks with the opposition to try to save the accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Santos had earlier on Wednesday met with his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, who led opposition to the deal with the FARC.

The men accompanied by aides talked privately for several hours, and later announced that they had agreed to form a commission that will begin meeting on Thursday to evaluate ways of improving the accord.