Killings continue to escalate in Haiti
New UN data shows that more than 1,200 people were killed and 522 wounded in Haiti between July and September. This represents a 27% increase in casualties compared to the second quarter. Figures could get even worse, as a new wave of coordinated gang attacks is terrorizing areas that had previously been spared. About 10,000 people were forced to flee parts of Port-au-Prince, while nearly 22,000 more were displaced in Arcahaie, north of the capital. Gangs also fired at a UN helicopter used by the World Food Program to deliver aid and at US embassy vehicles, while a Catholic charity's hospital clinic was vandalized and set on fire. On Oct. 31, a new UN report projected that 5.4 million Haitians—nearly half the population—will face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity by February 2025. Despite the ever-rising violence, the US government continues its deportation flights.
From The New Humanitarian, Nov. 1
Haiti: crisis deepens as year draws to close
On Dec. 6-7, more than 180 people–mostly elderly–were killed in Port-au-Prince by members of a gang whose leader targeted followers of the Vodou religion, blaming them for his son's illness. Days later, an attack in Artibonite department caused yet more bloodshed, another example of the violence extending well beyond the capital. In the past few weeks, gangs have consolidated their grip on new areas of Port-au-Prince, forcing the international airport to close and humanitarian workers to relocate outside the country.
According to the latest report from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), "Haiti now has the highest level of internal displacement due to crime-related violence in the world." Meanwhile, a new UN study revealed that three quarters of the more than 700,000 displaced Haitians reported having received no humanitarian assistance at all. One in two Haitians face acute hunger. The gang violence has killed at least 5,000 people between January and November, while killings by vigilante groups are also escalating. (TNH)