Colombia: 2025 set to be the decade’s worst year in humanitarian terms

One of the most worrying trends was the increase in the presence, use and abandonment of weapons, munitions and explosive devices, such as anti-personnel mines, explosive remnants of war, launched devices and controlled detonation devices. Between January and May, the ICRC recorded 524 people wounded or killed by explosive devices – an increase of 145 per cent compared with the same period in 2024. Seventy per cent of victims were civilians – 56 of them children. 

People in the department of Cauca suffered 55 per cent of the incidents, whereas Huila, which had no cases the previous year, became the third most affected department with 50 victims. The intensive use of explosive devices set off by improvised launchers and weaponized drones, as well as controlled detonation devices, was the main factor behind this increase. There were 137 people wounded or killed by launched devices, an increase of 342 per cent, and 266 victims of controlled detonation devices, an increase of 343 per cent. Victim-activated devices, such as anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war, continued to claim a high number of victims: 121 in total.