Haiti gang wars now 'cataclysmic' in key farmlands -UN report

(Reuters) – The United Nations has reported that the gang violence in Haiti has expanded beyond the capital, causing the displacement of tens of thousands of people and impacting access to food staples. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk emphasized the urgent need for international security assistance, which was requested by Haiti’s unelected government a year ago and authorized by the U.N. last month.

The violence has spread to the Bas-Artibonite region, a vital farming area north of the capital, where the U.N. has documented over 22,000 displaced individuals facing murders, looting, kidnappings, and sexual violence.

The report revealed that the most powerful gangs in the region are aligned with members of the G-Pep alliance in the capital, indicating an effort by G-Pep to expand its influence. Gangs armed with semi-automatic rifles and pistols have destroyed homes, attacked irrigation systems, and extorted “taxes” from farmers to access their fields. Kidnappings, torture, and gang rapes have also become increasingly common.

The violence has impeded humanitarian access to the area, leaving victims of sexual violence reliant on financially struggling rural organizations for support. Additionally, aid groups have been forced to suspend operations and reduce budgets, while the U.N.’s food agency estimates that nearly half of the country, including over 45% of the population in Bas-Artibonite, is suffering from hunger.

Turk described the situation as “cataclysmic” and reiterated the need for multinational security support, increased government action, expanded sanctions, and tighter controls on arms trafficking, which is believed to be largely originating from the United States.

“We continue to receive reports of killings, sexual violence, displacement, and other forms of violence – including in hospitals,” Turk stated. “The much-needed multinational security support mission needs to be deployed to Haiti as soon as possible.”

(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Harold Isaac, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)