Nearly 73,000 people have been displaced by the outbreak of violence in Colombia in 2021, a number that has risen by 181% year-on-year, according to the United Nations.
A report released Tuesday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states that 73,000 Colombians have been forced to flee “their homes” due to pressure from various armed groups operating in the country. Their number increased by 181% compared to 2020, according to the text.
“The actions of armed non-governmental organizations against the civilian population are the main cause of the forced evictions,” the UN agency said.
The displaced were forced to flee their place of origin either because of “conflicts”, or because of their “persecution” by armed groups, or because they received “immediate threats”, by telephone, brochures or messages.
Also in 2021, some 65,600 people were placed under forced detention to escape violence. While 85,700 suffered restriction of movement or access to basic services, due to traffic bans or other measures imposed by the armed groups. 67.5% of the people who were placed under forced detention were indigenous, 18% were Afro-Colombians.
Particularly in coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean in western Colombia, there has been “a crisis of protection due to the presence of more than five armed non-governmental organizations fighting for territorial and social control,” according to the report.
Choco, Valle del Cauca and Narinho, three drug-producing prefectures that are part of drug trafficking routes, accounted for 75% of the country’s forced relocations in 2021. And there, black communities ( 42%) and indigenous people (15%) are the ones most affected.
18% of those displaced were children. OCHA estimates that only 11,700 of the people displaced – 16% – were able to return to their homes in 2021.
Colombia is experiencing a resurgence of armed violence in isolated parts of the country. Former Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) insurgents rejecting the 2016 peace deal, members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), organizations that formally disbanded in 2016 and drug-trafficking gangs such as the Clan del Golfo are leading the way.
These organizations clash mainly over control of drug trafficking revenues, primarily in territories controlled by FARC members before the organization was disarmed, disbanded, and transformed into a political party.
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