GENEVA, Sept 27, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - More than 3,600 people have been killed 
this year in "senseless" gang violence ravaging Haiti, the United Nations 
said on Friday.

One of the world's poorest countries has been plunged into anarchy, with 
gangs taking over the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the security and health 
systems collapsing.

About 600,000 people were displaced in the first six months of 2024 and 1,280 
were injured in gang violence, including 295 women and 63 children, the UN 
rights office (OHCHR) said in a report.

At least 893 individuals, including 25 children, were kidnapped and held for 
ransom by criminal groups, who are vying for power in a vacuum left by 
political crisis and weak state authority.

"Latest figures documented by the UN Human Rights Office indicate that at 
least 3,661 people have been killed since January this year, maintaining the 
high levels of violence seen in 2023," the office said.

"No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality," said Volker 
Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The OHCHR urged Haitian authorities and the international community to do 
more to protect people on the Caribbean island.

"We are raising the alarm," rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told 
reporters in Geneva, warning that "illicit flows of arms are continuing to go 
into Haiti".

The report described horrific violence.

While some victims were struck by random gunfire, others were executed in 
broad daylight for allegedly informing authorities of opposing gang 
activities.

- Fear and subjugation -

"Some of those victims had their bodies mutilated with machetes and then 
burned.

"Gangs filmed the scenes and shared them widely on social media to instil 
fear and control the population," the report said.

The report said gangs used sexual violence "to punish, spread fear and 
subjugate populations".

It said at least 860 people were killed and 393 injured during police 
operations and patrols across Port-au-Prince, including at least 36 children, 
in what could constitute unnecessary and disproportionate force.

The gangs have also recruited large numbers of children, it added.

An estimated 1.6 million people in Haiti face emergency-level food 
insecurity.

In October 2023, the UN Security Council approved sending a multinational 
stabilisation force, led by Kenya, to assist Haitian police.

Kenyan President William Ruto told the UN General Assembly on Thursday his 
country would complete the deployment of the 2,500-strong Multinational 
Security Support Mission (MSS) by January.

- 'Wreaking havoc' -

Approximately 430 MSS personnel have been deployed so far. Besides Kenya, the 
force includes around 20 soldiers from Jamaica and Belize.

Ruto said Kenya and other African and Caribbean countries were ready to 
deploy but were being hindered by insufficient equipment, logistics and 
funding.

Turk said the stabilisation force needed more help.

"I welcome recent positive steps, such as the establishment of a Transitional 
Presidential Council, the new transitional government and the deployment of 
the first contingents of the MSS," he said.

"It is clear, however, that the mission needs adequate and sufficient 
equipment and personnel to counter the criminal gangs effectively and 
sustainably, and stop them spreading further and wreaking havoc on people's 
lives."

Turk urged Haitian authorities to reform the police and other state 
institutions crippled by endemic corruption, including the judiciary.

He said the international community should comprehensively implement the arms 
embargo, travel ban and asset freeze imposed by the UN Security Council, to 
stem gang violence.

Shamdasani said that "firearms and ammunitions have continued to enter Haiti 
through poorly monitored air spaces, unpatrolled coastlines and porous 
borders, and of course the gangs exploit those gaps".

"Weapons and ammunition have continued to flow into the country, primarily 
from the United States, but also from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica," 
she said.