Colombian voters on Sunday rejected the peace treaty between the government and the country’s largest rebel group, Farc (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), BBC reported. The deal was rejected by 50.2% of voters, with 49.8% approving it. Thirteen million ballots were cast in the referendum to approve the treaty, which ended a 52-year-long civil war in the South American country.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said that while he accepted the result, he would continue to work towards securing peace for the country. Santos said the ceasefire between the two sides will continue to remain in place, with government negotiators being ordered to travel to Cuba to consult the rebel group on the matter. Farc leader Timochenko said the group was committed to ending the war.

Former president Alvaro Uribe (pictured above), who headed the campaign opposing the peace treaty, said the country’s people wanted peace, but the deal needed “corrections”. As part of the treaty, the group would have to disarm and move into United Nations disarmament zones within 180 days. Officials had said that Farc would be transformed into a political party, with 10 seats in the 268-member Congress. More than 2,60,000 people on both sides have died in fighting during the war.