More than 202,000 people in Colombia were forcibly displaced or confined last year, largely because of violence by illegal armed group, according to the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA.
Data released by OCHA showed that 119,000 people were confined to their homes or villages for more than a week last year, the highest number since the humanitarian agency began monitoring humanitarian crises in Colombia in 2008.
Almost 74 thousand people were forcibly displaced because of violence, according to the OCHA’s monitoring system, indicating a reduction compared to last year.
In total, 3.2 million people were somehow affected by violence last year, mainly in the northwest of Colombia.
Victimization per 100,000 inhabitants
Combat and lockdowns
The surge in victimization was mainly due to shutdowns ordered by guerrilla group ELN and paramilitary organization AGC, and fighting between illegal armed groups in the west and the northwest of the country.
More than 2.8 million people were unable to travel freely as a consequence of the fighting and the so-called “armed strikes,” the OCHA’s data suggested.
More than 132 thousand people were affected by attacks on targets considered elementary for their basic survival and almost 52 thousand people were affected by attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Colombia’s new wave of forced displacement
Attacks against civilians
According to think tank Indepaz, which monitors attacks against civilians, 346 people were killed in 92 massacres last year.
Another 189 community leaders and human rights defenders were assassinated in 2022 compared to 171 the year before.
With the exception of the mass killing of anti-government protesters by police, most of these attacks on civilians took place in regions where illegal armed groups have been vying for territorial control.
Between January and November, 123 members of the security forces were killed and another 674 were injured, according to the Defense Ministry.
Violence against Colombia’s social leaders persists despite peace initiatives
Unraveling peace process
Much of the violence during the peace process that followed a 2016 agreement between former President Juan Manuel Santos and the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC has been blamed on a combination of factors.
Paramilitary organization AGC, guerrilla group ELN and groups formed by dissident guerrillas escalated, particularly in regions that had been abandoned by the FARC in 2017.
The security forces have been unable to provide basic protection to the population because of rampant corruption among commanders in the army and the National Police.