conflicts
UN: Thousands flee gang violence in Haiti’s capital
Demonstrators ride their motorbikes past a burning barricade as they protest insecurity in Port-au-Prince. photo
© Odelyn Joseph/AP
Haiti’s population suffers from gang fighting. The violence is also exacerbating the already precarious supply situation in the country. Many people are fleeing the conflict.
Because of the gang violence in According to the UN, around 5,000 Haiti residents have fled from two quarters of the capital Port-au-Prince within four days. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced yesterday that there are around 130,000 displaced people in the city.
From last Saturday to Tuesday, violence in the Carrefour-Feuille and Savanes Pistaches districts drove 4,972 people from 1,020 households to flee, according to the UN organization. Of these, 76 percent were accommodated in emergency shelters.
Violence exacerbates the supply situation in Haiti
Haiti is suffering from fighting between gangs, which according to UN estimates control 80 percent of the capital and terrorize the population with brutal – including sexual – violence. The number of kidnappings has also increased dramatically. Recently there was a vigilante movement by the residents against the gangs. The violence is also exacerbating the already precarious supply situation in Haiti. According to the United Nations, almost half of the eleven million inhabitants of the poor Caribbean state suffer from acute hunger.
According to the IOM, almost half of the displaced people in Port-au-Prince now live in makeshift shelters, where sanitary conditions are extremely poor. Many would have initially sought shelter with friends or family; however, the ability of host communities to share their scarce resources will diminish as the crisis persists. According to the IOM, there are almost 200,000 displaced people nationwide. In addition, there are around 100,000 Haitians who have been deported from surrounding countries this year.