{"id":243781,"date":"2023-09-11T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=243781"},"modified":"2023-09-06T05:21:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T04:21:36","slug":"haiti-violence-carnage-needs-to-stop-says-un-relief-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/09\/haiti-violence-carnage-needs-to-stop-says-un-relief-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiti Violence: \u2018Carnage Needs to Stop\u2019 Says UN Relief Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>

Over 2,500 people have lost their lives to gang violence in Haiti.
\u00a9 UNICEF\/Roger LeMoyne and U.S. CDC (file photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

Haiti is in the grip of \u201cextreme brutality\u201d, with gang-related violence continuing to force thousands from their homes amidst widespread suffering, said the UN\u2019s top humanitarian official there.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Sep 2023 <\/em>– The desperate situation prompted a tweet<\/a> today from Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths calling for an immediate end to the fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis carnage needs to stop\u201d said the UN relief chief.<\/p>\n

Major escalation<\/h2>\n

In the past two weeks alone, 71 people have been killed and injured in capital Port-au-Prince, marking a major escalation, according to UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA<\/a>, which Mr. Griffiths heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntire families, including children, were executed while others were burned alive. This upsurge in violence has caused unspeakable continued suffering of Haitians,\u201d Philippe Branchat, acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said in a news release<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

So far this year, gang violence in the Caribbean country has claimed more than 2,500 lives, with over 1,000 injured.<\/p>\n

At least 970 Haitians have been kidnapped, and 10,000 forcibly displaced from their homes.<\/p>\n

The latest wave of violence has also resulted in the forced displacement of over ten thousand people who have sought refuge in spontaneous camps and host families.<\/p>\n

Brazen human rights violations<\/h2>\n

Also on Thursday, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH<\/a>) issued a report<\/a> outlining the dire human rights situation there, including brutal killings and lynchings.<\/p>\n

The report noted that frustrated by lack of security and functioning government, residents armed with machetes, rocks, and fuel cans have resorted to brutal measures to prevent gang members and anyone associated with them from entering their neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

Between April and June, nearly 240 alleged gang members were killed by these self-proclaimed \u201cself-defence groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Alarming reports from #Haiti<\/a> where escalating violence killed and injured over 70 people in Port au Prince in the last two weeks.<\/p>\n

So far this year, more than 2,500 people have been killed and almost 1,000 have been injured.<\/p>\n

This carnage needs to stop.
https:\/\/t.co\/lDRhJr0kBH<\/a><\/p>\n

— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) August 31, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n