Following a harrowing report, the United Nations issued an urgent call on Friday to accelerate the deployment of international security forces to Haiti.
According to a UN report, between April and June of this year, at least 1,379 people were killed or injured in ongoing gang warfare, with an additional 428 kidnapped.
The UN office in Port-au-Prince released a report that highlighted the dire humanitarian crisis.
“Service providers report receiving an average of 40 rape victims a day in some areas of the capital,” read the statement in part.
Despite a recent decrease in gang-related casualties, there has been a troubling increase in the recruitment of children into gangs, as well as rising rates of sexual violence.
Former President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July 2021 created a power vacuum, allowing armed gangs to take control over most of the Haitian capital.
The violence reached unprecedented levels, prompting his successor, Ariel Henry, to resign in April of this year.
On June 25, the first detachment of an international task force overseen by the UN arrived in Port-au-Prince in an effort to restore order and pave the way for free elections next year.
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, who took office on June 3, has pledged to use the assistance of 400 Kenyan police officers to reclaim control.
Despite a reported 45% drop in killings in the three months following Henry’s resignation, street shootouts and human rights violations are still common, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where 88% of deaths and injuries have been documented.
Armed gangs continue to besiege neighborhoods, targeting civilians suspected of collaborating with the police or civilian defence groups.
The report describes a ruthless 11-day period in Solino, a middle-class district, during which 128 people, including 13 children, were killed or injured.
In late July, a Kenyan police officer serving with the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti was shot during a gunfight with one of the gangs.
According to a statement obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the officer was shot in the shoulder while attempting to disperse the gangs.
The incident occurred while the Kenyan contingent was patrolling the National Hospital-APN Sea Port road. They noticed a truck being attacked and looted by suspected bandits.
When officers intervened, they discovered that the gang had shot the driver while looting the loaded truck that was ferrying bags of rice.
When the gangs began shooting at them, the patrol team responded immediately.
During the firefight, the Kenyan officer was shot and injured.
Following the incident, the officer was evacuated and rushed to the Life Support Area (LSA) hospital, where he was treated and released to recover.
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