The Colombian government and Farc guerrillas have declared the final day of one of the world’s oldest wars with the signing of a ceasefire agreement to end more than 50 years of bloodshed.

“May this be the last day of the war,” said Farc chief Timoleón “Timochenko” Jiménez, his voice choked with tears.

“We are close to a final peace accord,” he said, after shaking hands with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos at the signing ceremony in Havana, which was attended by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.

Image: Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, Cuban president Raúl Castro and Farc commander Timoleón Jimenez attend the signing ceremony in Havana, Cuba. Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images