Jimmy Cherizier, AKA "Barbecue," leader of G9 Revolutionary Forces, issued a social media statement calling for a gang truce in light of the disaster and said his followers will participate in the relief effort. "We invite all compatriots to show solidarity with the victims by trying to share what little there is with them," he said. (Al Jazeera)

Haiti's gang violence has been an escalating problem for months, but recently became even more deadly and chaotic. Between July 8 and 17, at least 209 people were killed and 254 injured during clashes between the rival G9 and G-Pèp gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, according to the UN. Around half of the casualties were people with no known links to gangs. Fierce gun battles were also reported in the heart of the capital on July 27, spilling out of usual hotspots like Martissant or shantytowns like Cité Soleil. Thousands have been displaced, but the full impact of the fighting—including casualty figures—is difficult to confirm. "No one knows how many people have been killed or wounded… nor the exact number who have fled the area," according to a Médecins Sans Frontières report about the escalation of violence in Martissant over the past year. (TNH)

Thousands took to the streets in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince last week, protesting gang violence, rising costs of fuel and food, and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Gang violence, which has skyrocketed since the 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moïse, has paralyzed the Caribbean nation and deepened its many humanitarian crises. In July, gang violence trapped residents in the seaside shantytown of Cité Soleil without access to food or water. The unrest has also triggered fuel shortages as many drivers are too scared to make deliveries, and fuel importers have struggled to get paid. Inflation has now reached 29%, with some goods quadrupling in price. The Caribbean nation has been in political limbo since Moïse's death. Henry has refused calls to step down until elections are held, but observers say it's too dangerous to hold elections given the level of violence. Opponents have called for an interim government. (TNH)

Talk of another armed international intervention in Haiti continues, along with concern over who will lead it. The United States has proposed sending a force but has stopped short of volunteering US troops. Canada has sent a team to the Caribbean country to assess the security situation and growing humanitarian crisis. Canadians were part of an international force that arrived in 2004, when President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted.  (TNH)

Nearly 200 Haitians have died of cholera in a new outbreak which is quickly spreading across the Caribbean country. The waterborne illness had not been seen in years, but several overlapping crises—gang violence, fuel shortages, currency shortages, hunger, and a dysfunctional government—have allowed it to flourish. More than 6,300 people have been hospitalized, and there is a shortage of medicine to treat those who may be infected. The last cholera outbreak, which killed some 10,000 people in 2010, was linked back to UN peacekeepers. (TNH)

Haitian police officers stormed Prime Minister Ariel Henry's home and the national airport Jan. 26, as part of a protest over gang attacks. Gangs have killed 14 police officers since the start of the year; seven during a shoot-out the previous day. The National Union of Haitian Police Officers says the government isn't doing enough to halt the gang violence, which last year led to some 2,100 killings, 1,300 kidnappings, and dozens of rapes. (TNH)