Speaking at the regular daily press conferenceFarhan Haq said that according to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, OCHAIn Haiti, unrest was growing among gang members in the surrounding areas of the communes of Croix-des-Bouquets, Cité Soleil, Bas Delmas and Martissant.
“According to our humanitarian colleagues, violence in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets has displaced more than 1,200 people … at least 26 civilians have been killed and 22 injured, despite these numbers. maybe higher,” he said.
At the same time, dozens of houses burned down; schools, health centers and markets were closed; and a hospital in Marin was looted.
Violence in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets has displaced more than 1,200 people – United Nations Spokesperson
Increasing demand
“People must have access to clean water, food, hygiene kits, baby kits, kitchen kits, mattresses, blankets and clothes,” said Mr. Haq.
“The United Nations stands ready to provide hot meals and to further assist in coordination with national authorities.”
While implementing the plan to resettle families temporarily in temporary locations, the UN and its humanitarian partners supported the Office of the Mayor of Tabarre and the Civil Defense Agency, in distribution of hot meals and food, as well as essential items.
Since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated last July, violent crime has increased, according to media reports.
And last month, thousands of people took to the streets, demanding that the late president’s successor, Ariel Henry, do more to fight Haiti’s powerful criminal gangs that have taken control of areas area of the capital.
The alarm system is activated
A national coordination committee headed by the Directorate General of Civil Protection of Haiti, which includes UN agencies and NGO partners, has activated an early warning system. called Displacement tracking matrix, OCHA said.
Local NGOs are providing psychosocial activities for children at temporary locations, including recreational events, kid-friendly learning spaces, and counseling.
Kidnapping for ransom
Meanwhile, as Haitian police struggle to stop gang violence, kidnappings of foreigners and others by criminal gangs, demanding large ransoms, have increased, according to news reports. .
A Dominican diplomat is believed to have been abducted Monday while traveling through gang-controlled territory, but while the abducted foreigners have received most of the media attention, most of the victims are believed to be Haitian.
According to Haiti’s Center for Analysis and Research on Human Rights, in 2021, more than 1,200 people have been kidnapped – just 81 of them foreign nationals.
Ten percent are so-called “group abductions,” in which gang members kidnap a group of people, sometimes by storming into church services and kidnapping clerics in the middle of a crowd.
