GENEVA: Conflict and violence drove more people to flee within their own countries last year than natural and manmade disasters for the first time on record, monitors said on Tuesday. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council said in their annual report on the subject that at the end of 2025, 82.2 million people were living in internal displacement worldwide. The figure is just under the highest number ever recorded in 2024. &quot;Numbers remain at historic highs,&quot; the director of the IDMC, Tracy Lucas, told AFP, calling the trends &quot;a wake-up call&quot;. Over the course of last year, 65.8 million new internal displacements were reported, including many people forced to flee multiple times, the report showed. Conflict and violence were responsible for 32.3 million of those displacements -- up 60% from a year earlier -- while 29.9 million fled storms, floods, and other disasters. &quot;Never have we recorded such a staggering number of displacements related to conflict,&quot; said Lucas. &nbsp;&#39;Global collapse&#39;&nbsp;The report detailed how emerging, escalating, and entrenched conflicts in places such as Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo forced people to flee repeatedly within their countries. Such displacements remain highly concentrated. As they were hit by deepening instability last year, Iran and the DR Congo alone accounted for two-thirds of all new conflict-driven internal displacements, counting around 10 million each, the report said. Of the 69.7 million people who at the end of 2025 were living in internal displacement because of conflicts across 54 countries, nearly half were in just five countries, it said. Civil war-ravaged Sudan counted the most IDPs for a third consecutive year, with over nine million, followed by Colombia, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan. &quot;Internal displacement of tens of millions is a sign of a global collapse in prevention of conflict and basic protection of civilians,&quot; NRC chief Jan Egeland said in a statement. With new wars underway this year, adding to numerous entrenched conflicts around the world, more displacement driven by violence can be expected. &quot;Countless families are returning to destroyed homes and disappearing services -- or cannot return at all,&quot; Egeland said. &quot;From DR Congo and Sudan to Iran and Lebanon, we see millions more displaced on top of the previous record numbers driven out of their homes.&quot; Disaster-driven displacement&nbsp;The monitors, meanwhile, highlighted a 35% drop in disaster-driven displacement compared to the &quot;exceptionally high levels&quot; seen in 2024. But they stressed that last year&#39;s figures remained 13% above the annual average for the past decade. As climate change takes an increasing toll, they pointed out that a number of countries that had previously been less affected recorded large-scale disaster-driven displacements last year, even as previous hotspots remained exposed. Wildfires had, for instance, become an increasingly significant driver of displacement globally, accounting for nearly 700,000 displacements in 2025 alone. The report stressed the need to invest heavily in climate adaptation. The stark numbers come with humanitarian organizations worldwide reeling from foreign aid funding cuts, especially from the United States, which was the world&#39;s top donor. Many of the sweeping cuts are being felt by IDPs, who typically garner less attention than refugees, who have fled into other countries. Another impact has been a dramatic decline in the amount of data being gathered, Tuesday&#39;s report said. &quot;Data availability has declined in 15% of the countries where we monitor,&quot; Lucas said. &quot;Reliable displacement data is critical for understanding where needs and risks are greatest and for ensuring that policies and resources match the scale of the challenge,&quot; she warned.

In the Gaza Strip, 1.7 million Palestinians were internally displaced at the end of 2023 [File: AFP]

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Over the course of last year, 65.8 million new internal displacements were reported, including many people forced to flee multiple times, the report shows.

Conflict created more internal displacement than disasters last year: monitors

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday expressed deep concern over what it described as the persecution of religious minorities in India, citing recent incidents of vandalism during Christmas and continued violence against Muslims. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said incidents targeting minorities had intensified &quot;fear and alienation&quot; among affected communities, according to a press release issued on Monday.&nbsp; &quot;Recent condemnable incidents of vandalism during Christmas, as well as state-sponsored campaigns targeting Muslims &mdash; including the demolition of their homes and repeated lynchings &mdash; have alarmed the international community,&quot; Andrabi stated, specifically referencing the case of Muhammad Akhlaq, a Muslim man killed in a lynching.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 1068px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2005539819641004519&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=3d24efb1b6300fa7849c6a215596c2a99bee9f50&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Andrabi&#39;s statement comes after a volatile week in India that saw coordinated attacks on Christian celebrations. On Wednesday, a coalition of right-wing Hindu groups enforced a statewide shutdown in Chhattisgarh, disrupting Christmas festivities amid protests over alleged religious conversions. A mob of 40 to 50 men armed with sticks stormed Raipur&#39;s Magneto Mall, tearing down Christmas decorations and questioning shoppers about their religious identity before damaging property. Earlier, the Catholic Bishops&#39; Conference of India condemned an &quot;alarming&quot; rise in attacks on Christians, pointing to a viral video allegedly showing a local BJP official physically harassing a visually impaired woman attending a Christmas program in Madhya Pradesh. Civil society groups have documented the scale of the issue. The United Christian Forum, in a letter to India&rsquo;s home minister dated Dec 23, said it had documented 834 incidents of violence against Christians in India through November 2024, averaging 69.5 incidents monthly over the past decade. &quot;The list of such victims is sadly long,&quot; the spokesperson added, suggesting the recent incidents are part of a broader pattern of religious intolerance. Andrabi called on the international community to &quot;take appropriate steps to help protect the fundamental rights of vulnerable communities in India.&quot;&nbsp;

A priest blesses children dressed as Santa Claus on the occasion of Christmas at a church in Amritsar on December 25, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)

Foreign Affairs

 Pakistan on Monday expressed deep concern over what it described as the persecution of religious minorities in India, citing recent incidents of vandalism during Christmas and continued violence against Muslims.

Articles tagged with "Violence"

Conflict created more internal displacement than disasters last year: monitors

Pakistan warns of growing violence against minorities in India

Conflict created more internal displacement than disasters last year: monitors