Heavy-armed rival gangs clashed and began occupying Port-au-Prince territory in late April, forcing more than 16,800 people, including children, to abandon their homes and evacuate to temporary accommodation. The flare of violence spread to dozens of areas, involving hundreds of families in shootouts.
According to OCHA, at least 92 of the 188 people killed between April 24 and May 26 were non-gang members, another 113 were injured, 12 were missing, and 49. Was kidnapped for the purpose of ransom.
However, given the restricted access to areas of ongoing territorial clashes, the office warned that the number of people killed could be much higher.
Authorities say the scale of gang violence has reached unprecedented levels. Testimony collected and quoted by Bachere included decapitation, chopping and burning of corpses, and the killing of minors accused of being informants of rival gangs.
The gang also gang-raped children up to the age of 10, a tactic used to punish people living in areas under rival control, Bachelet said.
The clash closed 11 medical centers and at least 442 schools, some burned down and rampaged. They also blocked the two major national highways connecting the capital and the rest of the country, limiting the movement of people and goods.
OCHA said the violence seemed to subside in the last few days, but the situation was still “very unstable.”
Haiti has been in turmoil for years, but violence has escalated dramatically since the assassination of Moise on July 7, 2021.
Mois’s murder plunged the country into political turmoil, and opposition groups refused to approve the appointment of current Prime Minister Ariel Henry. After taking office on 20 July last year, Henry had promised a transition of power and a rapid transition to elections, but was unable to reach a political agreement or election timeline for the transition.
In addition to the security and political crisis, Haiti also suffers from high inflation and food insecurity, with one in five children under the age of five near Cite Soleil near Port-au-Prince suffering from acute malnutrition. .. , According to the United Nations.
Source: www.cnn.com
