The United Nations (UN) has allocated $3.8 million for humanitarian assistance in Colombia's Catatumbo region, where a displacement crisis is unfolding. The UN's Central Emergency Response Fund approved the allocation, according to Mireia Villar, the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia. The funds will be used to provide food, healthcare, water, and education to those affected by the ongoing conflict.
The UN has warned that the situation in Catatumbo is the most serious displacement crisis in Colombia since 2016. Over 77,000 people are estimated to be victims of violence, with at least 52,000 forced to flee their homes and 25,000 confined to their territories, primarily in rural areas with restricted mobility. The UN's intervention aims to provide protection, particularly for children and women at risk of gender-based violence.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also issued an alert about the violence in Colombia's Cauca region. In its weekly report, OCHA highlighted that around 28,000 people in the municipalities of Suárez and Buenos Aires faced mobility restrictions after a non-state armed group (GANE) ordered communities to stay in their homes. Additionally, 10,000 people in the municipalities of Argelia, Cajibío, Morales, Suárez, and Patía are at high risk due to the use of improvised explosive devices, targeted killings, and armed clashes.
The situation is further aggravated by underreporting of affected individuals, as many victims fear retaliation. The ongoing conflicts have also affected 1,308 students due to school closures and damaged 65 homes.