The Colombian government and the FARC armed rebel group have announced a “definitive” ceasefire, the final step before the signing of a historic peace accord to end the world's longest running civil conflict.

According to a joint statement by the two sides in a war which has been raging for more than half a century, an “agreement for a bilateral and definitive ceasefire and end to hostilities” has been reached by negotiators in the Cuban capital of Havana.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will be in Havana on Thursday to formally announce the ceasefire agreement, alongside FARC leader Timoleón Jiménez, alias “Timochenko”. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also due to attend the announcement.

Carlos Lozada, a FARC commander and member of the communist insurgency’s delegation in Havana, tweeted: “On June 23 we will announce the last day of the war." This idea was echoed by tens of thousands of Colombians on social networks with the hashtag #ElÚltimoDíaDeLaGuerra trending in the South American nation on Wednesday.

Talks brokered by Cuba and Norway have been going on for three years with the aim of ending a conflict which has killed at least 220,000 people, mostly civilians, according to a 2013 report by a government-created commission. Millions more have been displaced in a war which has also involved other left-wing groups besides the FARC, as well as right-wing paramilitaries.