© Archyde.com/Jaime Saldarriaga
File photo. Embera Katio indigenous people remain displaced by the armed conflict from Pueblo Rico, Risaralda, they are seen sitting in a house in the city of Cali
BOGOTÁ, Feb 16 (Archyde.com) – More than 200 people a day were victims of forced displacement in Colombia in 2021, due to an increase in attacks once morest the civilian population amid the upsurge in violence by non-state armed groups, revealed on Wednesday a report by a United Nations agency.
© Archyde.com/Jaime Saldarriaga
File photo. Embera Katio indigenous people displaced by the armed conflict from Pueblo Rico, Risaralda, play in a house in the city of Cali
At least 73,974 people, 181% more than in 2020, were forced to leave their territories of origin in Colombia, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The report reported more than 2,400 direct attacks once morest the civilian population last year, 37% more than in 2020.
“It should be noted that the actions of non-state armed groups once morest the civilian population are the main causes of forced displacement in Colombia,” the OCHA report stated.
The study detailed that direct threats through telephone calls, pamphlets, messages, among others, caused the majority of displacements, followed by confrontations and harassment between illegal armed groups.
Around 20,000 people were able to return to their territories of origin, while more than 53,000 remain displaced in host communities, most of which do not have the resources to meet their needs.
The report found that at least 65,600 people were forced into confinement due to the presence and actions of armed groups, while more than 85,700 people suffered severe restrictions on mobility and access to goods and services due to curfews by these organizations. illegal.
OCHA did not specifically mention any group, but the FARC dissidents, the leftist guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and criminal gangs such as the Clan del Golfo fight once morest the Armed Forces and face each other for control of areas strategic for drug trafficking and illegal mining.
A peace agreement that Colombia signed with the demobilized FARC guerrilla in 2016 allowed the demobilization of 13,000 members of that group and reduced violence in the South American country.
But over time, the conflict that has left more than 260,000 dead in almost six decades has increased due to dissidents who rejected the peace agreement, the ELN and criminal gangs rushed to occupy the territories evicted by the FARC.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, edited by Nelson Bocanegra)