Haitian gangs escalate violence and expand attacks outside the capital, top UN official says
UNITED NATIONS — Gangs inside Haiti have escalated their violence and expanded their activities outside the capital, even attacking small boats and kidnapping cargo shipping company staff, the country’s top UN official said on Tuesday.
Special Representative Maria Isabel Salvador told the UN Security Council that the situation has deteriorated over the past three months, with more than 700,000 people now displaced in the country and the political process facing “significant challenges”.
She said Haitians across the country continue to suffer gang activities escalate and expand, “spreading terror and fear, overwhelming the national security apparatus” and exacerbating an “extremely dire” humanitarian situation.
Gangs also attack small boats carrying Haitians from the capital Port-au-Prince to other parts of the country, and they have kidnapped staff from international freight companies, forcing them to suspend service to Haiti, Salvador said.
Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN children’s agency UNICEF, told the council that the “catastrophic situation” for Haiti’s children, which she said has deteriorated further six months ago. She said more than 360,000 of those currently displaced are children.
“Armed groups regularly commit serious violations of children’s rights, including murder and mutilation,” she said. “And so far this year, we have seen a staggering increase in the number of reported incidents of sexual violence against women and children, including gender-based violence.”
Russell said gangs also recruit children and use them in their operations.
“We estimate that 30% to 50% of the members of the armed groups are children,” she said. “They are used as informants, cooks and sex slaves, and are forced to commit armed violence themselves.”
The power of gangs in Haiti has grown since 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïseand it is estimated that they now control up to 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The increase in murders, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by vigilante groups.
The Security Council voted on September 30 to extend the mandate of the Kenyan-led multinational force to help Haiti’s national police tackle gang violence.
The force is said to have 2,500 international police officers, but Salvador said only about 430 troops have been deployed, about 400 from Kenya and the rest from the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica. Earlier this month, Kenyan President William Ruto said another 600-strong contingent would be sent to Haiti in November.
Salvador, head of the UN political mission in Haiti, said the UN trust fund that finances the multinational force and relies on voluntary contributions “remains seriously under-resourced, which could impact deployment and could hinder it from carrying out its duties in support of the armed forces.” Haitian National Police.”
On the political front, Leslie Voltaire was sworn in as the new leader of Haiti’s presidential transitional council earlier this month, following the fallout from the crisis. serious allegations of corruption against three of its members.
The council was created this year after targeted gang attacks forced Haiti’s former prime minister to resign, leaving the country without a leader. The municipality works together with new Prime Minister Garry Conille and is responsible for helping govern the country and organize general elections by February 2026.
Salvador told the Security Council that despite initial political progress, tensions between the council and the government have increased, increasing frustration among Haitians and eroding confidence in the current political process.
She said the UN mission is working “to strengthen cooperation within the two-member executive branch, and urges them to put aside differences and focus on tackling insecurity, governance reforms and election preparations.”
Meanwhile, almost half the population does not have enough to eat and gangs’ control of key access roads has seriously affected the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential services, Salvador said.
“As a result, prices have risen and many communities are on the brink of collapse due to food shortages and ongoing violence that has left large areas of agricultural land unproductive,” she said.