Increased violence in Colombia worsens humanitarian consequences of the pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) notes in a report that Colombia has ongoing armed conflicts with five irregular organizations that significantly affected the civilian population in the pandemic year.

“In 2020, the pandemic added an additional element, an additional element in the sense that some armed actors took advantage of the pandemic to strengthen their control over society in some territories,” explains Lorenzo Caraffi, head of the local ICRC delegation.

In addition to disputes over territory, there have been clashes with state forces and attacks on the much-needed medical mission. In 2020 there were 389 victims of explosive devices, mostly civilians, the highest number in the last four years.

Terrorist attack in Corinto

On Friday night, an attack took place near the municipal government building in Corinto, in the west of the country; 43 people were injured in the explosion of a car bomb.

President Ivan Duque visited the area of the attack on Saturday. “Cowards always use terrorism as a weapon to try to seek fear and influence the community. We know that those behind this attack are the bandits of the Dagoberto Ramos. Bandits who belong to dissident groups, and we are confronting them and will continue to confront them wherever they are,” he said.

The city of 30,000 has long suffered from fighting between the Colombian army and rebel groups trafficking cocaine and hiding in the nearby Andes mountain range.

The southwestern departments on the Pacific and those bordering Venezuela and Antioquia are the most affected by the rising violence.

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