Haiti gang violence claims 5,000 lives in less than a year, UN report
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Almost 5,000 people have been killed in Haiti since October 2024, displacing hundreds of thousands as gang violence has escalated particularly around the capital Port-au-Prince, according to a U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report published on Friday.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The surge in violence is deepening Haiti's humanitarian crisis, destabilizing the country and raising concerns of spillover effects in the region.
KEY QUOTES
"Violence increased sharply in recent months," the OHCHR report said.
"Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited," U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Haiti Ulrika Richardson said in a press release on the report.
"The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities," she added.
BY THE NUMBERS
Between October 2024 and June 2025, 4,864 people have been killed in Haiti amid worsening gang violence nationwide.
Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas accounted for more than 1,000 of the deaths.
CONTEXT
Gangs have increasingly taken control across Haiti, overwhelming local security forces and forcing international aid organizations to scale back operations and forcing tens of thousands of residents from their homes.
Hospitals, including the key University Hospital of Mirebalais, have closed due to insecurity, worsening Haiti's fragile health sector. Less than 25% of health facilities around Port-au-Prince remain operational, according to UN estimates.
WHAT'S NEXT
The UN report warned that the escalating violence in Haiti is threatening to destabilize the country but also other countries in the Caribbean.
(Reporting by Harold Issac; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Marguerita Choy)
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