Gang clashes in the suburbs of Haiti’s capital have resulted in at least 78 deaths since Saturday, including 10 bystanders, according to a provisional toll released Thursday by the United Nations Office in Haiti (BINUH) to AFP. BINUH specified that these armed clashes, occurring in the communes of Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets since May 9, also left 66 wounded. The civilian fatalities included five men, four women, and a young girl.
Haiti, the Caribbean’s poorest country, is ravaged by persistent gang violence, a situation that has significantly deteriorated over the past two years. The recent violence has displaced some 5,300 people, with many families still reportedly trapped in affected neighborhoods, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing local humanitarian organizations. The escalating insecurity forced a hospital and a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) facility to suspend operations and evacuate staff. Before evacuating, MSF had treated 40 gunshot victims at the hospital in under 12 hours.
These same two communes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area experienced earlier outbreaks of violence in March and April, displacing nearly 8,000 people, the UN reported. BINUH further stated that between March 5 and May 11, a total of 305 people were killed and 277 wounded in Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets. Of these fatalities, 63 were residents—comprising 17 women and 13 children—with the remaining deaths being gang members.
A new multinational anti-gang force is being deployed to Haiti to replace the under-equipped and underfunded Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police. However, only a contingent of 400 Chadian soldiers has arrived in Port-au-Prince to date. The new force also announced the arrival of its commander, Mongolian General Erdenebat Batsuuri, on Thursday.
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