4.1.8. Anti-personnel mines

4.1.8. Anti-personnel mines

There was an increase in the presence, use, and abandonment of explosive devices (including landmines, remnants of war, improvised explosive devices) in both rural and urban areas in the reference period, with most victims being civilians. According to ICRC, the number of municipalities with reported incidents also increased in 2024, including some who had not reported any incidents in 2023, marking a spread to new areas. Most incidents occurred in Cauca, Nariño, and Antioquia.548 However, data on victims varied across sources, with ICRC reporting 719 victims in 2024,549 while the government reported 109.550 ICRC indicated that the number of people killed and injured due to anti-personnel mines in 2024 was the highest since 2016.551 The government reported the following figures for victims of anti-personnel mines from 2022 to August 2025, where approximately one in five have died, and also showing an increase from 2024 to 2025:552

Escalating hostilities between competing armed groups led to the injury or death of 534 people by explosive devices in the first five months of 2025, according to ICRC recordings.553