GEVENVA: The United Nations stated on Tuesday that more than 600 people died in gang violence in Haiti last month, where authorities lacked the capacity to protect civilians.
“Every report I get from Haiti emphasizes the scale of the suffering and hammers home the message that Haitians need urgent help and they need it now,” said Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
He urged the international community to send a specialized armed force to assist Haiti’s police and administration in restoring order.
Since the killing of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021, the Caribbean nation, the poorest in the Americas, has been plagued by a political and economic catastrophe.
Rival gangs currently dominate the majority of Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations stated in its quarterly update for January to March, published on Tuesday, that violence was “becoming more extreme and frequent (and) spreading relentlessly as gangs seek to extend their control.”
“In the month of April alone, more than 600 people were killed in a new wave of extreme violence that hit several districts across the capital,” Turk’s office said, adding that areas previously considered safe were now affected.
“This follows the killing of at least 846 people in the first three months of 2023, in addition to 393 injured and 395 kidnapped during that period — a 28-percent increase in violence on the previous quarter.”
According to the study, gangs used snipers to shoot “indiscriminately” at individuals on the street and “firing into homes,” and others were “burned alive on public transportation.”
Turk claimed that because the Haitian government “lacked the capacity to respond,” civilians formed vigilante organizations to battle the gangs.
As a result, “mob killings and lynchings of alleged gang members” have increased. In April alone, at least 164 such murders were reported.
“This will only fuel the spiral of violence,” Turk said, adding that Haiti was “dangling over an abyss” last week.
“We must not forget that extreme poverty and a lack of basic services are at the root of current violence and gang control over communities.”
“With international support, the government must do everything possible to meet its obligation to provide people with regular and unhindered access to clean water, food, health, and shelter,” Türk said.
