Colombia’s armed conflict worsened for civilians in 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday, warning that the country’s security situation deteriorated and that humanitarian harm has intensified over the past year. In its annual report, the ICRC said the impact of the fighting on civilians was the worst in a decade as criminal gangs, rebels and government forces battled for control in rural areas.
The ICRC said displacement accelerated in 2025, with the number of people pushed from their homes by conflict doubling to 235,000. It said the surge came as criminal gangs and rebels fought the Colombian state and each other, with armed groups continuing to target communities in areas tied to the cocaine trade.
The report also described a sharp rise in restrictions on civilian movement and activity, saying the number of people who had to endure lockdowns imposed by rebel groups in small towns and villages increased by 99% in 2025. The ICRC said those measures were part of how armed groups imposed control at the local level.
The ICRC said the conflict’s dynamics have shifted since a 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and FARC, the nation’s largest rebel group, helped reduce rural violence. The report said security deteriorated in many parts of the country afterward, as smaller armed groups moved in to control rural areas that were once dominated by FARC, taxing local business and intimidating civilians who resist them.
Olivier Dubois, the ICRC’s chief of mission in Colombia, said the humanitarian situation in 2025 was “the result of a progressive deterioration that the ICRC has warned about since 2018,” according to the report. The ICRC said it has monitored the trend as armed violence spread and civilian protection risks increased.
The report also linked the violence to changes in how peace efforts have played out, saying that for the past four years President Gustavo Petro’s administration has tried to reduce violence in rural areas through peace talks and ceasefires with remaining rebel groups. Critics cited in the ICRC report said rebel groups used ceasefires to regroup, rearm and strengthen their grip over communities, including through the recruitment of children into criminal groups.
Beyond the ICRC’s displacement and lockdown figures, the report said explosive weapons continued to affect civilians at high levels in 2025. The ICRC said there were 965 people killed or injured by explosive devices, including landmines and drones, in 2025—33% more cases than the previous year.
The ICRC said political violence also worsened in Colombia, citing that a presidential candidate was shot in the head last year during a rally in Bogota and later died from his injuries; authorities blamed one of the rebel groups for the attack. In February, the report said, the United Nations Human Rights office in Colombia described the security situation as “backsliding,” with murders of human rights defenders rising by 9% last year.
The ICRC urged all parties in Colombia’s armed conflict to respect the rights of civilians and protect those who no longer wish to take part in hostilities, adding that “Respect for international humanitarian law is not optional.” In the report, the ICRC said it wants armed actors to reduce the civilian toll as the conflict continues to evolve across the country.