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Armed conflict and displacement in Colombia

Fighting between non-state armed groups for territorial control, including in Catatumbo (Norte de Santander), Cauca, Nariño and Chocó, is causing mass displacement and the confinement of communities.

According to the ICRC, 2025 was the worst year in humanitarian terms in a decade: 235,619 people displaced individually, 87,069 in mass displacements and 176,730 people confined. In the first half of 2026 the Ombudsman's Office recorded 15,960 people displaced in mass events and 64,787 confined, mostly in Norte de Santander, Cauca, Putumayo and Chocó. The UN estimates 6.9 million people in humanitarian need in 2026, while humanitarian funding in 2025 fell by half compared with 2024.

Numbers with sources

Needs

• protection
• food
• health
• shelter
• education
• water and sanitation

Parties to the conflict

• Clan del Golfo
• ELN
• FARC dissidents
• Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN)

Who is helping

Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (9). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.

• Action Against Hunger (ACF)
  Action Against Hunger prevents and treats malnutrition and provides access to water and food. It has warned of confirmed famine in Sudan and underfunded humanitarian…
  Donate on the organisation's website (donner.actioncontrelafaim.org)
• Colombian Red Cross (Cruz Roja Colombiana)
  The Colombian Red Cross provides rescue, first aid and restoring family links. After the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of 10 August 2026 (epicentre near San Jose del Palmar…
  Donate on the organisation's website (cruzrojacolombiana.org)
• Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
  Doctors Without Borders provides medical care to people affected by conflict, epidemics and disasters, independent of politics. In North Darfur it runs, among others…
  Donate on the organisation's website (lekarze-bez-granic.pl)
• International Committee of the Red Cross (MKCK (ICRC))
  The ICRC protects and assists victims of armed conflict and promotes international humanitarian law. In May 2026 it upgraded the Rafah field hospital, run with 16…
  Donate on the organisation's website (icrc.org)
• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
  NRC assists displaced people with shelter, education, water and legal counselling. In Tawila it registered more than 10,000 new arrivals and enrolled over 2,000 children…
  Donate on the organisation's website (donate.nrc.no)
• Oxfam (Oxfam)
  Oxfam is a confederation of organisations fighting poverty and inequality that also delivers emergency aid. In Gaza it provides food, clean water and hygiene kits and…
  Donate on the organisation's website (oxfam.org)
• Save the Children (SCI)
  Save the Children works for children's health, education and protection in humanitarian crises. It has worked in Yemen since 1963 and runs mobile clinics and water…
  Donate on the organisation's website (savethechildren.net)
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  OCHA coordinates the UN's international humanitarian response and manages the CERF and country-based pooled funds. In Sudan it channels donor resources through the Sudan…
  Donate on the organisation's website (crisisrelief.un.org)
• World Food Programme (WFP)
  WFP is the largest humanitarian organisation focused on food assistance. In Cox's Bazar it provides more than 1.1 million Rohingya refugees with e-voucher food…
  Donate on the organisation's website (wfp.org)

Sources

• civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/latin-america-and-caribbean/colombia…
• colombia.un.org colombia.un.org/sites/default/files/2026-08/Colombia_Addendum_HNRP%202026_18082026%20ES.p…
• infobae.com infobae.com/america/agencias/2026/05/12/cruz-roja-alerta-que-2025-fue-el-peor-ano-en-una…
• icrcnewsroom.org icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/1190/icrc-report-failure-to-respect-rules-of-war-deepened-human…
• infobae.com infobae.com/colombia/2026/07/29/defensoria-alerta-crisis-humanitaria-15960-desplazados-y…
• elespectador.com elespectador.com/colombia-20/conflicto/confinamiento-y-desplazamiento-en-colombia-2026-ci…
• nrc.no nrc.no/news/2026/colombia-trapped-in-their-own-territory

Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections

Other events in this category

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• Gaza Strip and West Bank Middle East
• Civil war in Myanmar Southeast Asia
• Civil war in Sudan Northeast Africa
• War in Yemen Arabian Peninsula
• Conflict in north-east Nigeria West Africa
• Conflict in the central Sahel Central Sahel
• Conflicts in northern Ethiopia Horn of Africa