Hundreds of Indigenous families have been forced to abandon their homes in Mexico's mountainous Guerrero state following intensified attacks by a criminal organization, according to Indigenous rights groups.

The gang known as Los Ardillos conducted sustained attacks on villages in the region, including eight hours of bombings on Saturday that utilized drones, the National Indigenous Congress reported Monday. The violence has displaced between 800 and 1,000 families, who fled to other towns for safety.

While Los Ardillos has been active in Guerrero state for years, the attacks escalated significantly last week, marking a new phase of violence in the region. The central Mexican state has long struggled with criminal group activity and territorial disputes.

The displacement in Guerrero occurs amid a broader global crisis of internal displacement. According to a new report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, conflict and violence-driven internal displacements worldwide reached a record 32.3 million in 2025, representing a 60% increase from the previous year.

This marked the first time since data collection began in 2008 that conflict-driven displacements exceeded those caused by natural disasters, which totaled 29.9 million in 2025. The total number of internally displaced people globally reached 82.2 million by the end of 2025.