Displacements due to the conflict in Colombia grow 128% between January and May, OCHA warns

Bogotá, June 26 (EFE).- Mass displacements due to the armed conflict in Colombia increased by 128% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, while confinements grew by 70%, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported this Thursday. In its report on the humanitarian situation, the agency noted that displacement and confinement resulting from conflict-related emergencies affected more than 68,200 and 91,000 people, respectively, between January and May. The main causes were clashes between non-state armed groups, fighting between these and the public force, and the use of explosive traps, especially in the Pacific regions, the northwest of the country, and the border with Venezuela. OCHA warned that, due to the "expansion" of non-state armed groups, other indicators of the humanitarian crisis also increased in different territories of the country: restrictions on mobility (+56%), some attacks against civilians (+12%), armed actions (+30%), use of explosive devices and traps (+71%) and victims of anti-personnel mines (+5%). "The intensification and expansion of violence between non-state armed groups and their humanitarian impacts have affected municipalities where recent displacements had not occurred," the agency added, and highlighted the case of Acandí (Chocó), on the border with Panama, where more than 400 people were displaced. OCHA also expressed its concern about the persistence of massive forced displacements in the Catatumbo region, in the department of Norte de Santander and bordering Venezuela, where at least 114 people recently left rural areas of Tibú after the death of two civilians, including a minor. In this region, last January, clashes between the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla and the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents intensified, forcing the displacement of thousands of people.

Massive suspension of UN operations

On the other hand, OCHA expressed its concern about the "massive suspension of UN operations" in the department of Cauca, in the southwest of the country, after the Central General Staff (EMC) - the main dissident group of the former FARC - prohibited the entry of the United Nations System into its areas of influence on May 24. The organization estimated that this measure is directly and indirectly impacting 282,000 people, in addition to affecting the missions of at least nine system agencies, restricting humanitarian access for monitoring, protection through presence, and the implementation of humanitarian and development projects.

Affected by rains

OCHA also reported that the first rainy season in the country caused rivers to overflow and floods in different regions, affecting more than 143,000 people in May alone, and 397,100 in the first five months of the year. The rural and indigenous communities of the Pacific, the Amazon, and the northern region of La Mojana were the most affected, with severe damage to key infrastructure such as bridges, tertiary roads, schools, housing, crops, and other livelihoods. In La Mojana, a region in northern Colombia made up of low-lying areas and swamps in the departments of Sucre, Bolívar, Córdoba and Antioquia, the organization estimates that 60,000 people in addition to the 80,000 reported in April would have humanitarian needs due to the ongoing impacts, with a particularly serious situation in the Caribbean department of Sucre.