Violence by criminal gangs in Port-au-Prince is spreading beyond Haiti’s capital to rural areas previously considered safe, according to a UN report released Tuesday.
The joint report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti focuses on the Bas Artibonite sector (center), about 100 kilometers from the capital, which is experiencing a significant increase in gang violence the last two years.
Between January 2022 and October 2023, at least 1,694 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in the area, according to the report, and kidnappings for ransom “have become a constant fear for public transport users.”
Against the backdrop of a “shocking increase in gang violence” that already controls 80% of Port-au-Prince, the report calls for the “urgent deployment” of the Kenya-led multinational security mission confirmed by the Security Council in October.
The report gives the example of a 22-year-old woman who was captured by a gang on a bus in March, beaten and raped during her more than two weeks of captivity, and ended her life shortly after her release.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
According to the same source, criminal groups plunder “rival” villages, particularly resorting to sexual violence against women and minors.
According to the UN, abuses also include the destruction of property.
“They steal farmhouses, crops and livestock and destroy irrigation canals,” contributing to the displacement of “more than 22,000 people” from their villages, thereby reducing the area under cultivation and increasing food insecurity, which is already very high.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
“The situation in Haiti is catastrophic,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement from his office, stressing that the violence was particularly affecting hospitals.
According to Türk, at least 3,960 people died, 1,432 were injured and 2,951 were kidnapped in Haiti this year due to the actions of criminal gangs.
bpe/dax/llu/ll