country sinks into violence with more than 600 people killed in April, UN calls for help

More than 600 people were killed in April alone in “a new wave of extreme violence”, which hit several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, alerted the UN on Tuesday, May 9. “At least 846 people have already been killed in the first three months of 2023, to which must be added more than 393 people injured and 395 kidnapped during the period, a 28% increase in violence compared to the previous quarter. “said a press release from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The High Commissioner, Volker Türk, denounces “an endless cycle of violence in Haiti”. “The urgent human rights situation calls for a strong response as a matter of urgency”, he asked on Tuesday. In a quarterly report (January to March) published on Tuesday, the UN points out that violence in Haiti is not only becoming more extreme and more frequent, but that it is spreading inexorably as gangs seek to extend their control.

Areas of the capital previously considered safe are now affected. Kidnappings are up 12% compared to the previous quarter and sexual violence continues to be used as a weapon by gangs to impose terror and make the population suffer. Among other modus operandi used by the gangs, the report lists incidents in which snipers fired indiscriminately at passers-by or homes. People were also burned alive on public transport.