The United Nations on Friday urgently called for the acceleration of international security forces deployment to Haiti following a harrowing report.
According to the report by the UN, between April and June this year, at least 1,379 individuals were killed or wounded in the ongoing gang warfare, with an additional 428 people kidnapped.
The report from the UN office in Port-au-Prince highlighted the dire humanitarian crisis stating, “Service providers report receiving an average of 40 rape victims a day in some areas of the capital.”
Despite a recent decrease in casualties from gang conflicts, there is a troubling rise in the recruitment of children into gangs and escalating rates of sexual violence.
The power vacuum left by the assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 has enabled armed gangs to seize control over most of the Haitian capital.
The violence reached unprecedented levels, culminating in the resignation of his successor, Ariel Henry, in April this year.
In a bid to restore order and pave the way for free elections next year, the first detachment of an international task force, supervised by the UN, arrived in Port-au-Prince on June 25.
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, who took office on June 3, has committed to leveraging the support of 400 Kenyan police officers to reclaim control.
Despite a reported 45% decline in killings in the three months following Henry’s resignation, street shootouts and human rights violations remain rampant, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where 88% of deaths and injuries have been documented.
Armed gangs continue to besiege neighbourhoods, targeting civilians suspected of collaborating with the police or civilian defence groups.
The report recounts a ruthless 11-day period in Solino, a middle-class district, where 128 people, including 13 children, were killed or wounded.
In late July, a Kenyan police officer who is part of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti suffered a gunshot injury during a gunfight with a section of the gangs.
According to a statement obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the officer was reportedly shot in the shoulder while attempting to expel the gangs.
The incident occurred while the Kenyan contingent was patrolling along the National Hospital-APN Sea Port road when they noticed a truck that was being attacked and looted by suspected bandits.
Upon intervening, the officers found that the gang had shot the driver when they looted the loaded truck that was ferrying bags of rice.
The patrol team immediately engaged the gangs after they started shooting at them. It was during the firefight that the Kenyan officer suffered a gunshot injury.
Following the incident, the officer was evacuated and rushed to the Life Support Area (LSA) hospital where he was treated and left to recuperate.
