Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring the country's 50-year old conflict with the Farc rebels to an end. 

Santos had managed to secure a peace deal with the Farc rebels although it was voted down in a referendum less than a week ago.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote in a statement that it decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Santos for his "resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people."

"The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further it is the committee's hope that in the year's to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process," the Nobel committee spokeswoman said according to the Guardian, and she applauded President Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his last day in office.

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Colombia's President Santos speaks during a Presidential address in Bogota, Colombia

The Syrian White Helmets, a group of almost 3,000 volunteer search and rescue workers who have saved over 60,000 lives in Syria, who were considered a favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize, congratulated Santos on Twitter.

This is a developing story