Colombia’s army on Tuesday walked back part of a contentious policy to step up attacks in the country, saying it would change its pledge forms in which officers are required to list the number of criminals and militants they plan to kill, capture or force to surrender in battle.

The change came only days after The New York Times revealed the army’s new orders instructing top commanders to “double the results” of their combat operations against guerrilla, paramilitary and criminal organizations in Colombia.

The orders had unnerved some senior army officers, who said the intense pressure to carry out attacks was heightening the risk of civilian casualties and had already led to suspicious deaths by overzealous soldiers.

Colombia endured as many as 5,000 illegal killings in the mid-2000s after soldiers were pressured by their superiors to increase attacks on guerrilla fighters during the country’s civil war.