Colombia’s civilians hit the hardest by armed conflicts, Red Cross says

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The impact of armed conflict on civilians in Colombia over the past year was the worst in a decade as the security situation in the country deteriorated, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday in its annual report.

The humanitarian organization said that the number of displaced people due to the fighting between criminal gangs and rebels for the Colombian state will double in 2025, reaching 235,000 people.

Meanwhile, the number of people having to endure lockdowns imposed by rebel groups in small towns and villages rose by 99% last year.

Relatives of victims embrace in front of a bus hit by an explosive device on the Inter-American Highway in Caguibio, Colombia, on April 25, 2026, after an attack that authorities blamed on splinter groups of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels killed at least a dozen people. AP

For decades, rebel groups and drug traffickers have been fighting the Colombian government for control of rural areas, including corridors linked to the cocaine trade.

The 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, helped reduce violence in rural areas.

But the security situation has since deteriorated in many parts of the country, as smaller groups try to take over areas once controlled by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, taxing local businesses and terrorizing civilians who stand in their way.

“The humanitarian situation in 2025 is the result of the gradual deterioration that the ICRC has been warning about since 2018,” said Olivier Dubois, head of the ICRC delegation in Colombia.

Over the past four years, President Gustavo Petro’s administration has tried to reduce violence in Colombia’s rural areas by holding peace talks with the country’s remaining rebel groups and agreeing to ceasefires with some of them.

A Colombian soldier carries a new Jaguar rifle at the Indomil weapons and ammunition factory of General José María Córdova in the municipality of Soacha, near Bogotá, on May 8, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
A man mourns in front of a coffin during a funeral ceremony for the victims of a deadly attack that authorities blamed on a breakaway faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group, in Cagibio, Colombia, on April 28, 2026. Reuters

But critics say rebel groups have used the ceasefire to regroup, rearm and strengthen their grip on communities, where children are increasingly being recruited into the ranks of criminal groups.

Political violence also worsened in Colombia, where a presidential candidate was shot in the head last year during a rally in the capital, Bogota, and later died from his wounds.

Authorities blamed one of the country’s rebel groups for the attack.

Colombian soldiers stand with new Jaguar rifles at the arms and ammunition factory of Indomel Jose María Córdova in the municipality of Soacha, near Bogotá, on May 8, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

In February, the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia said the security situation in the country was “deteriorating” with killings of human rights defenders increasing by 9% last year.

The Red Cross also noted on Tuesday that in 2025, 965 people were killed or injured by explosive devices, including landmines and drones, an increase of 33% from the previous year.

The Red Cross urged parties to the armed conflict in Colombia to respect the rights of civilians and protect those who no longer wish to participate in hostilities.

The humanitarian organization said: “Respect for international humanitarian law is not optional.”

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