The parties of the Colombia civil war are the state and the army, different rebel groups as well as extreme right-wing paramilitary private army. The war is seen to have begun in 1964, when the biggest rebel movement, left-wing Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Columbia (FARC) began its operations. The paramilitary groups are outlawed self-defense groups which were created by drug traffickers, landowners and with the support of the army against the left-wing rebels. The biggest of the paramilitary groups is Autodefensas Unidas de Columbia (AUC).
The conflict flared up from social injustice which the rebels had braced themselves for. Eventually ideological motives were surpassed by drug trafficking and the struggle became a violent drug war. It was civilians who suffered most from the ensuing cruelties: over the decades countless number of people have been murdered, kidnapped, tortured and driven away from their homes. The country’s internally displaced people are over three million. Peace negotiations between the government and the rebels have officially ended without an outcome.
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