The International Committee of the Red Cross said in an annual report Tuesday that 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians caught in Colombia’s multi-sided armed conflict in a decade, as smaller armed groups battle for control of territory and drug-trafficking routes once dominated by the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The ICRC documented 235,000 people forced from their homes last year — double the figure for 2024 — while the number of residents subjected to lockdowns imposed by rebel factions in small towns and villages jumped 99%. The organization also recorded 965 deaths or injuries from explosive devices, including landmines and drones, a 33% increase from the prior year.
“The humanitarian situation in 2025 is the result of a progressive deterioration that the ICRC has warned about since 2018,” Olivier Dubois, the ICRC’s chief of mission in Colombia, said in the report.
The findings add pressure to the administration of President Gustavo Petro, who has spent four years pursuing peace talks and negotiating ceasefires with the nation’s remaining rebel groups in an effort to quell rural violence. Critics say those groups have used the ceasefires to regroup, rearm, and expand their control over communities, where child recruitment is rising.
Political violence has also intensified. A presidential candidate was shot and killed during a rally in Bogotá last year, an attack authorities attributed to one of the country’s rebel groups. In February, the United Nations Human Rights office said the security situation was “backsliding,” with murders of human rights defenders up 9% in 2025.
The ICRC urged all parties to the conflict to respect the rights of civilians and to protect those who no longer wish to take part in hostilities. “Respect for international humanitarian law is not optional,” the humanitarian group said.