“LET this be the last day of war,” declared Farc commander Timochenko as he signed a historic ceasefire deal in Havana on Thursday.

The liberation movement leader, born Rodrigo Londono, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos put their names to the agreement ending 52 years of civil war in the presence of world leaders.

Among them were Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose predecessor Hugo Chavez helped promote peace in its neighbouring country, and UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon.

The deal will govern the disarmament of the Farc’s 7,000 guerillas.

Before the signing, guarantors from Cuba and Norway, which have mediated the three years of talks, read out the landmark joint communique number 76 which included agreements on the surrender of weapons, security assurances and the fight against far-right death squads and other criminal gangs responsible for killings and massacres.

“This means nothing more and nothing less than the end of the Farc as an armed group,” Mr Santos said, adding that the final peace deal would be signed in Colombia.

“The children and youth of our country have never known a single day without the violence of the conflict. Neither have the adults.”

Cuban President Raul Castro insisted: “Peace is a basic human right,” while Mr Ban said: “On a day where there are so many wars in the world, Colombia signs a deal moving towards peace.”

As the agreement was signed hundreds of people watched the ceremony live on a giant screen set up in Colombian capital Bogota, as church bells pealed at noon in celebration.

Many hugged, cried, sang the national anthem, danced and waved the national flag.

“I’m 76 and have lived this war all my life,” said tearful retired teacher Graciela Pataquiva. “I’m so happy — I can die in peace.”

A peace deal in the 1980s fell apart when right-wing paramilitaries launched a bloody campaign of suppression against the Farc-founded Patriotic Union party’s electoral candidates, killing some 2,500 before the guerillas resumed their revolutionary war.