Bogotá, Colombia — The International Committee for the Red Cross’ (ICRC) annual report on Colombia found an 89% increase in those killed or injured by explosives.
In total there were 719 recorded casualties, up from 380 in 2023, with civilians making up the majority of victims.
The report is the latest evidence of Colombia’s worsening armed conflict and its mounting human cost.
The ICRC’s annual report assesses humanitarian challenges in the country, covering a range of indicators. According to the communiqué, the majority of explosions involved “controlled detonation explosives and launched artefacts.” The latter includes ‘tatucos’, improvised bombs launched using a ramp, and drones attacks, which are on the rise.
In recent weeks, there have been repeated drone attacks affecting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, in Colombia’s conflict zones.
Read more: Drone attacks increasingly affect civilians in Colombia’s conflict
“The problem is that often there is not the level of precision in launched explosive devices… [therefore] you are not attacking a military target, but you are affecting the civilian population,” José Antonio Delgado, ICRC Director of National Operations in Colombia, told Latin America Reports.
While 65% of incidents involving explosives occurred in the same three departments of Cauca, Valle de Cauca and Nariño, historically hotbeds of the armed conflict, the geographical scope of the explosions increased too. The ICRC recorded cases in 78 municipalities, half of which had recorded no incidents the year before.
“This report really is a wake-up call. It should spark a moment of reflection,” Elizabeth Dickinson, Senior Colombia Analyst at Crisis Group, told Latin America Reports.
She also highlighted the report’s warning that Colombia faces its worst humanitarian outlook since the signing of the 2016 peace deal with the long-running FARC guerrilla insurgency.
“We should also remember that these dire conclusions about the situation being at its most difficult moment since 2016 actually reflect the situation even before the latest spike in violence in Catatumbo,” said Dickinson, referring to new violence this year in the country’s Northeast.
In addition to the findings on explosions, the report also warned about a host of other humanitarian challenges.
It found an 89% increase in the number of people forcibly confined to their homes due to violence like armed strikes.
It also reported an epidemic of “invisibilized violence” affecting women and children living in conflict areas.
Specifically, the report warned that children are facing recruitment to armed groups and sexual abuse.
It also found widespread sexual violence against women in conflict areas and a culture of silence that reduces awareness of the threat.
Featured image: Colombian Army and Navy members find an alleged cache of explosives in Putumayo. Image credit: Colombian Ministry of Defense via X.
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