New York, USA.- Some 530 people were killed, many of them by snipers, and about 280 kidnapped by gangs that operate with impunity in Haiti, the UN declared Tuesday, calling for the deployment of a specialized support force.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that from January to March 15, “531 people were killed, 300 injured and 277 kidnapped in gang-related incidents that took place mainly in the capital, Port-au-Prince. “.
“Most of the victims were killed or wounded by snipers who allegedly fired randomly at people who were in their homes or on the street,” OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado told reporters in Geneva.
In the first two weeks of March alone, clashes between gangs resulted in at least 208 deaths, 164 injuries, and 101 kidnappings.
The UN Human Rights Office is very concerned about the violence in Haiti, where “clashes between gangs are increasingly violent and frequent,” Hurtado said.
“We call on the international community to urgently consider the deployment of a specialized support force… with a comprehensive and precise action plan.”
According to the UN, the gangs are trying to expand their territorial control in the capital and other regions by attacking people living in areas controlled by their rivals.
Among the victims of stray bullets are students and school teachers. The UN also denounced an increase in the kidnappings of parents and schoolchildren in the vicinity of the study centers, which has forced the closure of many schools.
Without the protection of a school environment, “many children have been forcibly recruited by gangs,” Hurtado said.
thousands of displaced
Haiti – the poorest country in the Americas – has been plunged into a humanitarian, economic and political crisis for years, exacerbated since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and accentuated by the rise in gang violence.
Chronic instability and violence have skyrocketed food prices and half of Haiti’s population lacks enough to eat.
At least 160,000 people have been displaced and live in precarious conditions, and a quarter of them survive in camps, with limited access to basic sanitation services.
“Sexual violence is also used by gangs against women and girls to terrorize them, subdue them and punish the population,” denounced Hurtado, who claimed that gangs kidnap girls to pressure families to pay a ransom.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, urged the Haitian authorities to address the security situation, with a reinforcement of the Police and a reform of the judicial system.
