Gangs Killed 150 People In Haiti’s Capital Over The Last Week – UN Report
Soaring violence in Port-au-Prince since last week has killed at least 150 people, bringing the total number of deaths in Haiti this year to more than 4,500, the United Nations said Wednesday.
“The latest upsurge in violence in Haiti’s capital is a harbinger of worse to come,” UN rights chief Volker Turk warned in a statement.
“The gang violence must be promptly halted. Haiti must not be allowed to descend further into chaos.”
#Haiti: Over 20,000 flee as gang violence spurs mass displacement.
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) November 20, 2024
The toll of gang-related violence has reached catastrophic levels, with ~4,000 gang related deaths in 2024 alone – @UNHumanRights
The capital faces near-total paralysis – @UNMigrationhttps://t.co/6JO2dKyhFX pic.twitter.com/pAbIEsNW4u
Since November 11, violence has escalated rapidly in Port-au-Prince, as a gang coalition seeks complete control of the Haitian city.
Well-armed gangs dominate over 80% of the city, routinely targeting civilians despite the deployment of a Kenyan-led international force to assist outgunned police in restoring government order.
“At least 150 people have been killed, 92 injured and about 20,000 forced to flee their homes over the past week,” Turk’s statement said.
In addition, “Port-au-Prince’s estimated four million people are practically being held hostage as gangs now control all the main roads in and out of the capital”.
The Haitian capital has seen fresh warfare in recent weeks from Viv Ansanm, an alliance of gangs that in February helped remove former prime minister Ariel Henry.
According to Turk, at least 55% of the killings from simultaneous and apparently coordinated strikes in the capital were caused by gunfire between gang members and police.
He also cited reports of an increase in mob lynchings.
Authorities reported Tuesday that police and civilian self-defense organizations murdered 28 gang members in Port-au-Prince during an overnight operation as the government attempts to restore control.
Last year, locals in Port-au-Prince stoned and burned a dozen accused gang members alive in a brutal chapter of vigilante reprisals.
First video is the population running after the armed terrorists that escaped from the 2 trucks. The 2nd video is in Canapé Vert and rte Bourdon, toward Petion-Ville in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. All it takes is just a few good cops to help the population bwa kale. pic.twitter.com/zgipjT3YZY
— Bettinna ⚔️ 🇭🇹 (@bettinna) November 19, 2024
According to the UN Human Rights Office, the new violence pushed “the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year to a shocking 4,544 dead and 2,060 injured”.
The real toll, it stressed, “is likely higher still”.
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In addition, an estimated 700,000 people are now internally displaced across the country, half of them children, it said.
Turk warned that “the endless gang violence and widespread insecurity are deepening the dire humanitarian crisis in the country, including the impacts of severe food and water shortages and the spread of infectious diseases”.
This was happening “at a time when the health system is already on the brink of collapse”, he said, adding that “threats and attacks on humanitarian workers are also deeply worrying”.
“Gang violence must not prevail over the institutions of the State,” he said, demanding “concrete steps … to protect the population and to restore effective rule of law”.
Gangs Killed 150 People In Haiti’s Capital Over The Last Week – UN Report
