Days after the slaughter of 11 Colombian soldiers who were attacked while they were sleeping in a small town in western Cauca province, President Juan Manuel Santos has called on the leaders of the leftist rebel group known as Farc to set a deadline to reach a peace deal.

The attack led president Santos to order a resumption of offensive air raids against the rebels, which has been suspended since March.

As reported in the Guardian, Santos said, “The incident was the product of a deliberate, not fortuitous, attack by the Farc -- and this is a clear breach of the promise of a unilateral ceasefire.”

On Friday Santos warned the guerrillas that Colombia was running out of patience, saying, at a reception for visiting South Korean President Park Geun-hye, "Don't be deaf to us Colombians who are clamoring that the time to end the war has come."

According to The Associated Press, Santos added, "Time limits to negotiations need to be put in place."

The Latin American country has been rocked by the recent deaths.

Hours before Santos made his remarks regarding a deadline for peace, hundreds of outraged Colombians took to the streets of several cities to join in funeral processions for the 11 slain soldiers.

Santos himself served as a pallbearer for one of the fallen soldiers at a memorial service in Bogota.

The attack, which occurred late Tuesday night, was a deep shock to Colombians as it had happened months after a seemingly steady progress in negotiations between the Colombian government and Farc had been achieved.

The rebel group had declared a unilateral ceasefire which in turn resulted in the government responding with a suspension of air raids on rebel camps.

Though Santos ordered the air strikes to resume following the attack, conservative critics as well as some members of the military said this was not enough and want Santos to go further.

Despite such requests Santos has given no sign that he is considering ending peace talks with Farc, saying that he was elected to pursue peace not perpetuate war.

"The easiest decision today is to say war, war and more war," Santos said. "I was elected by Colombians to make peace and that is my mandate."