UN: Violence in Colombia Registers a 621% Increase This Year

In the first two months of 2022 at least 274,000 people in Colombia were affected by violence, which represents an increase of 621 percent compared to the same period of 2021, according to a report by the United Nations (UN) Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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The UN body mentioned in its report that 3,000 people have been displaced, while 48,000 people are in a situation of confinement, which means an increase of 394 percent compared to the same period last year.

Of the total number of people in confinement, 87 percent are in the northwestern department of Chocó, one of the regions most impacted by armed conflict.

 The Ombudsman's Office has also had to issue at least five early warnings due to the situation of forced displacement.

Meanwhile, continuing with the comparison, the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) of Colombia revealed that 48 social leaders have been killed in the first quarter of the year, which means an increase of six compared to the same period of 2021.

The number of massacres and people killed in this type of actions also increased, since so far there are 27 massacres with 94 victims in 2022 in contrast to 23 and 84 in 2021, respectively.

Between January 1 and March 30, 2022, 11 murders of signatories of the 2016 peace agreement have been registered, three less than in the same period in 2021. 

Last March 23, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Colombia acknowledged that, according to the figures available to them, "most of the effects derived from armed conflict and violence reached (in 2021) the highest level in the last five years".