Murder rate in Haiti spikes with over 1,200 killed in three months

A gang leader pictured in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 5 March 2024. The country has seen an explosion of gang violence in recent months.

More than 1,200 people were killed from July to September in Haiti – an increase of 27 percent from the previous quarter in the Caribbean country, which has been ravaged by gang violence.

According to a UN report released on Wednesday, 1,223 people were killed and 522 injured as a result of gang violence and the fight against gangs.

"This represents a 32 percent drop in killings and injuries compared with the first quarter, but an increase of 27 percent compared with the second quarter," it said.

Almost half of the deaths were attributed to gangs, but some 45 percent were reportedly the result of law enforcement operations.

"At least 106 extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions were carried out by law enforcement officials ... Among the victims were six children aged approximately ten years old," the report said.

The report also highlighted a 40 percent increase in the number of acts of violence committed by self-defence groups or unorganised members of the population, known as the "Bwa Kale" vigilante movement.

They made up some 8 percent of the overall killings.


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