In more recent history, the city was the centre of the Zapatista armed uprising in 1994.

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The Zapatists' armed uprising in January 1994, though it led to some 150 deaths, was short-lived.

ECONOMIST: Mexico��s southern sore

Mr Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) committed himself to ending the armed Palestinian uprising, renounced terrorism and said that militant groups must give up their arms.

ECONOMIST: Back to earth

Like Mr Abbas, Mr Korei was an architect of the Oslo peace accords in the early 1990s, is opposed to the armed Palestinian intifada (uprising) and has good relations with Europe, the Arab states and many Israelis.

ECONOMIST: After Abbas | The

The other stream is led by the young, armed fighters newly fortified by the uprising.

ECONOMIST: The Palestinians: Arafat's choice | The

Kidnappings and armed robberies have increased since a popular uprising ousted Egypt's long-ruling dictator, Hosni Mubarak, last year.

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Security forces have also struggled to assert control over armed men who took part in last year's uprising and who refuse to lay down their weapons.

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The negotiations in Havana are expected to focus initially on the issue of land reform in Colombia, as it was a major reason for the uprising that brought about the establishment of the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in the early 1960s.

BBC: Ivan Marquez (left) and fellow Farc negotiator. File photo