Story highlights If it holds, ceasefire will end five decades of civil war before final peace deal is reached

Conflict between FARC, Colombia has left an estimated 220,000 dead

(CNN) The Colombian President and the top leader of the FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla group, signed a ceasefire agreement Thursday in Havana, Cuba, putting both parties one step closer to reaching a final peace agreement.

A ceasefire agreement has long been considered one of the last and most important steps to help end Colombia's 52-year armed conflict.

President Juan Manuel Santos called the occasion a "historic day" for his country, which has lived for five decades "with the fear and uncertainty of war."

"After more than 50 years of clashes, deaths, attacks, death and sorrow, we have put an end to the armed conflict with the FARC. Reaching this agreement fills us with faith and hope," Santos said afterward.

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