Haiti gang problem

UN warns ‘Haiti is at a dire crossroads’

Africa /

Haiti is mired in an unprecedented crisis as gang violence escalates, threatening state authority, a UN official said Wednesday. “Haiti is at a dire crossroads. Extreme levels of gang violence continue to erode state authority and pose an alarming threat to the people of Haiti and to international peace and security in the region, with no improvement in sight,” Miroslav Jenca, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said at a UN Security Council meeting. He said the current situation in Haiti “is not just another wave of insecurity; it is a dramatic escalation that shows no signs of abating.” Noting that the instability has reached new heights, Jenca said that gangs now control an estimated 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. He said armed groups have encircled the city, “attacking government buildings and infrastructure while using extreme violence, including sexual violence, as a weapon of subjugation.” Highlighting the severe humanitarian toll, he said that more than 20,000 people have fled their homes in just four days this month, adding to the nearly 700,000 displaced by violence earlier this year. Jenca also criticized the insufficient funding for the $674 million UN Humanitarian Response Plan, which is only 43% financed. He also noted the efforts of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission led by Kenya and said just 400 personnel have been deployed out of a planned 2,500. Without additional international support, Jenca warned that Haiti risks a “complete breakdown of state authority.” “Such an outcome would be inexcusable for the people of Haiti, who have endured far too much already,” he added, urging the global community to step up security assistance and crack down on the illicit flow of drugs, weapons and ammunition fueling the gang violence. – Haiti’s escalating crisis Haiti, with a population of over 11 million, faces severe challenges, including political instability, economic turmoil and a worsening security crisis. According to the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, armed gang violence has claimed 3,900 lives since the beginning of the year. The surge in violence has also led to significant political changes. Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in April this year, prompting the establishment of a transitional council. Garry Conille was appointed prime minister on May 28 but was replaced on Nov. 11 by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé following a council decision.

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Gangs clash with residents and police in Haiti’s Pétionville

Africa /

Gangs launched a new assault on Haiti’s capital early Tuesday, targeting the upscale Pétionville area, where gunmen clashed with residents who joined forces with police to defend their community. The attack was led by the Viv Ansanm gang, headed by former elite police officer Jimmy Chérizier, known as Barbecue, who had posted a video announcing the assault. At least 28 gang members were killed, and hundreds of munitions were seized, according to Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police. It remains unclear whether police were prepared for the attack, given that Chérizier had publicly planned the assault. Local residents, angry over the ongoing violence, reported that some suspected gang members were decapitated or had their feet cut off, with bodies piled up and set on fire. Eyewitnesses said two trucks carrying gang members entered Pétionville, with one truck blocking the community’s main entrance. Chérizier had previously threatened retaliation against hotel staff and management in the area, accusing them of sheltering politicians and “oligarchs.” The attack follows a surge in gang violence that recently led to the closure of Haiti’s main international airport after gunmen opened fire on a plane preparing to land. This violence has displaced more than 20,000 people, with gangs now controlling 85% of Port-au-Prince. Attacks on previously peaceful neighborhoods are part of a broader effort to expand gang control. The escalation of violence coincides with the arrival of a Kenyan-led U.N. peacekeeping mission, and the U.S. is now advocating for a new peacekeeping force due to the Kenyan mission’s funding and personnel shortages.

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Gang violence spreading across Haiti 

World /

Gang violence is still spreading across Haiti, while the UN-backed mission to combat crime in the Caribbean country continues to lack sufficient funds to act, UN human rights expert William O’Neill warned on Friday. O’Neill, who concluded a visit to Haiti this week, said gangs are invading new territories as weapons and ammunition enter the country despite an international embargo. “Areas previously not impacted by gang violence are now directly impacted, with galloping inflation, lack of basic goods and flows of internally displaced people,” O’Neill warned at a news conference in Port-au-Prince. “The human rights and humanitarian consequences are dramatic.” He warned that the UN-backed mission, led by 400 Kenyan police officers who arrived in Haiti at the end of June, has deployed less than one-quarter of the promised contingent and has less than two weeks left in their initial one-year mandate. “The equipment it has received is inadequate, and its resources are insufficient,” he said. At least 2,900 troops were promised by countries including Antigua, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Chad, Bahamas and Jamaica to help Haitian police. More than 1,379 people were killed or injured in Haiti, and 428 kidnapped from April to June, according to the UN. “The solutions are there, and they already exist. But efforts must be redoubled immediately,” said O’Neill. He pointed out that the population continues to suffer from sexual violence, displacement and children are being forcibly recruited into gangs. The children, he said, are “being used to carry out attacks against public institutions and police operations.” “Youth are losing hope of a better future,” he said. Less than one-third of Haiti’s health services are functioning normally, and almost 5 million people are suffering from hunger.

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