The first quarter of 2024 was the most violent since at least the beginning of 2022 in Haiti, a Caribbean country ravaged by gangs, the UN said on Friday, with at least 1,660 people killed, or 50% more than in the last quarter of 2024.
“Between January and March 2024, at least 2,505 people were killed or injured as a result of gang-related violence
,” indicates the quarterly report of the UN mission in Haiti (Binuh).
“This represents an increase of more than 53% compared to the previous period (October-December 2023), making the first three months of 2024 the most violent period since Binuh established its human rights monitoring mechanism. the person at the beginning of 2022
.
In the first quarter, 1,660 people (1,347 men, 273 women and 40 children) were killed and 845 were injured (624 men, 179 women and 42 children), a spokesperson for the mission told AFP. Compared to 1,104 murders and 532 injuries in the last quarter of 2023. The murders listed do not all concern civilians. According to the report, 141 people were notably killed in the first quarter by
“self-defense”
groups
who began attacking suspected gang members since spring 2023.
Reduction in kidnappings for ransoms
Kidnappings for ransoms, on the other hand, decreased by 37% across the country, with at least 438 people kidnapped, most of them in the Artibonite department where gangs attack travelers on public transport, notes the report. Haiti has been ravaged for decades by poverty, natural disasters, political instability and worsening gang violence. Since late February, powerful Haitian gangs have teamed up to attack police stations, prisons, the airport and the seaport in an effort to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The latter resigned on March 11 and a Presidential Transition Council was created last week, without ending the crisis.
Since the end of February,
“more than 4,600 inmates have escaped from the capital's two main prisons, at least 22 police stations and sub-stations and other police buildings have been ransacked or burned and 19 police officers have been killed or injured
,” indicates the UN. The gangs also continued to resort to sexual violence against residents of
“rival”
neighborhoods , underlines the report, denouncing in particular the gang rapes suffered by young girls.
“Gang activities have severely limited access to essential services, including health care and education, and have exacerbated food insecurity
,” lamented Maria Isabel Salvador, head of the UN mission, in a statement. UN, which calls for the acceleration of the deployment of the international security mission to be led by Kenya.