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Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Haiti's gangs have 'near-total control' of the capital as violence escalates, U.N. says
Security guards stand watch as Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, center, talks with the Mexico's Charge d'Affaires Jesus Cisneros after attending an event marking one year since the start of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) By EDITH M. LEDERER Haiti's gangs have gained 'near-total control' of the capital and authorities are unable to stop escalating violence across the impoverished Caribbean nation, senior U.N. officials warned Wednesday. An estimated 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince is now under control of criminal groups who are expanding attacks not only into surrounding areas but beyond into previously peaceful areas, Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. 'Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents,' she said. 'And in the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported.' Waly said the state's authority to govern is rapidly shrinking as gang control expands with cascading effects. Criminal groups are stepping into the vacuum left by the absence or limited delivery of public services and are establishing 'parallel governance structures,' and gang control of major trade routes has paralyzed legal commerce, leading to soaring prices for cooking fuel and rice, Haiti's staple food, she said. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the council 'the ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince' and their strengthened foothold in the capital and beyond is 'pushing the situation closer to the brink.' 'Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario,' he warned. Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and previously were estimated to control 85% of the capital. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived in Haiti last year to help quell gang violence, but the mission remains understaffed and underfunded, with only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposal in February to have the U.N. provide drones, fuel, ground and air transport and other non-lethal support to the Kenya-led mission has languished in the council. In response to the gangs, the UNODC's Waly said there has been a rapid growth in the number and activities of private security companies and vigilante self-defense groups, with some trying to protect their communities while others act illegally and collude with gangs. 'Over the last three months," Jenca said, "these groups reportedly killed at least 100 men and one woman suspected of gang association or collaboration.' He said the last three months have also seen an increase in sexual violence by gangs with the U.N. political mission in Haiti documenting 364 incidents of sexual violence involving 378 survivors just from March to April. A new report by U.N. experts covering the period from last October through February said the gangs have exploited political turmoil and the disorganized response to Haiti's security crisis, pointing to competing political ambitions and allegations of corruption within Haiti's transitional governing bodies that have stymied action. 'While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power,' the experts said, 'these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals.' One major result is that very little progress has been made toward restoring public security or implementing the roadmap for organizing national elections by February 2026, the experts monitoring an arms embargo on Haiti and sanctions against key gang leaders said in the report to the Security Council. With a weak national police force facing acute tensions in its leadership, an army that needs rebuilding, and the limited ability of the multinational force, the experts warned that the gangs will continue 'to have the upper hand unless stronger international support is provided.' As for vigilante groups, the experts said, they 'often include local police officers, some of whom actively participate in human rights violations.' The Haitian National Police have also carried out 'a worrying number of extrajudicial killings … with suspected gang members often summarily executed,' the experts said, pointing to 281 summary executions by specialized police units in 2024 including 22 women and 8 children. Despite the U.N. arms embargo on Haiti, gangs continue to obtain more powerful weapons not only from regional civilian markets but from police stockpiles in Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, the experts said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
TimesLIVE
19-06-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Haiti's capital in the dark after residents storm hydroelectric plant
The outburst came after authorities and gangs faced off in Mirebalais earlier in the day, local media reported, with gangs capturing a security vehicle and setting it on fire. Reuters was not immediately able to verify images of the incident. This would be the second time residents forcibly shuttered the hydroelectric plant in recent months. In May interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime promised swift action to ensure a similar incident would not happen again. Haitians are growing increasingly frustrated with the government as the transition council fails to deliver on promises to stabilise the nation, which has been without a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. A Kenya-led, UN-backed security mission to the nation has also failed to make headway in tackling the crisis. World leaders have increasingly called for the mission to become a formal UN peacekeeping mission, while the US and Colombia have floated deploying troops through the Organization of American States.
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Haiti's capital in the dark after residents storm hydroelectric plant
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince was in the dark on Wednesday after residents of a nearby town stormed a dam and brought it offline in protest at government inaction over gang violence. Gangs have tightened their grip on Haiti, with a record 1.3 million people displaced in the past six months, according to U.N. estimates. Local media reported that residents of the central town of Mirebalais, to the north of Port-au-Prince, marched on Tuesday afternoon into the hydroelectric plant which powers much of the region and brought it offline. Videos and photos circulating on social media, which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, showed them entering the building. They also reportedly toppled an electric transmission tower. Haiti's transitional government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The outburst came after authorities and gangs faced off in Mirebalais earlier in the day, local media reported, with gangs capturing a security vehicle and setting it on fire. Reuters was not immediately able to verify images of the incident. This would be the second time residents forcibly shuttered the hydroelectric plant in recent months. In May, interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime promised swift action to ensure a similar incident would not happen again. Haitians are growing increasingly frustrated with the government as the transition council fails to deliver on promises to stabilize the nation, which has been without a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. A Kenya-led, U.N.-backed security mission to the nation has also failed to make headway in tackling the crisis. World leaders have increasingly called for the mission to become a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission, while the U.S. and Colombia have floated deploying troops through the Organization of American States. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Haiti's capital in the dark after residents storm hydroelectric plant
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince was in the dark on Wednesday after residents of a nearby town stormed a dam and brought it offline in protest at government inaction over gang violence. Gangs have tightened their grip on Haiti, with a record 1.3 million people displaced in the past six months, according to U.N. estimates. Local media reported that residents of the central town of Mirebalais, to the north of Port-au-Prince, marched on Tuesday afternoon into the hydroelectric plant which powers much of the region and brought it offline. Videos and photos circulating on social media, which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, showed them entering the building. They also reportedly toppled an electric transmission tower. Haiti's transitional government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The outburst came after authorities and gangs faced off in Mirebalais earlier in the day, local media reported, with gangs capturing a security vehicle and setting it on fire. Reuters was not immediately able to verify images of the incident. This would be the second time residents forcibly shuttered the hydroelectric plant in recent months. In May, interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime promised swift action to ensure a similar incident would not happen again. Haitians are growing increasingly frustrated with the government as the transition council fails to deliver on promises to stabilize the nation, which has been without a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. A Kenya-led, U.N.-backed security mission to the nation has also failed to make headway in tackling the crisis. World leaders have increasingly called for the mission to become a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission, while the U.S. and Colombia have floated deploying troops through the Organization of American States. (Reporting by Harold Isaac and Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Extreme brutality': UN, aid groups warn Haiti unrest soaring
Haiti has seen a "wave of extreme brutality" in recent weeks, with numerous killings and thousands forced to flee their homes, a consortium of UN agencies, NGOs and donors is warning. "Entire families have been brutally wiped out in their homes, while others, including children and babies, have been shot dead as they tried to escape," the group, organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in a statement Monday. Gangs control large portions of Haiti, including the majority of the capital, and violence has soared despite the arrival of hundreds of police personnel as part of a Kenya-led multinational security support mission (MSS). "We are deeply alarmed and dismayed by the unacceptable and inhuman intensity of the violence raging in Haiti, a wave of extreme brutality which, since the end of January, has resulted in the loss of many lives," the group said. It said 4,000 people had been forced to flee the Kenscoff area of the capital, along with 2,000 more from the Delmas, Port-au-Prince and Petion-ville municipalities. The group called on "all parties involved in this violence to break this cycle of terror and put an end to this uncontrolled spiral." Fresh attacks occurred late Monday nights, said residents of two neighborhoods in the capital. "They set fire to our house with my father inside. It's cruel," a resident who managed to flee the area told AFP. Another said the attack came early in the morning as vigilante security forces were resting. "The bandits attacked us by surprise," she said. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has long been mired in instability, but conditions severely worsened early last year when gangs launched coordinated attacks in the capital to force then-prime minister Ariel Henry to resign. He handed power to an interim government, which along with the MSS has struggled to wrest back control from the gangs. The UN-approved MSS has around 1,000 personnel from six nations, though mostly from Kenya, out of 2,500 initially expected. One Kenyan officer died after being shot on Sunday. UN officials have repeatedly called for more support for the mission and a surge of resources to the nation, where an estimated one million people have been displaced by the violence. Last week, the UN launched an appeal for over $900 million in aid for Haiti this year, a sharp increase from 2024, which was only 44-percent funded. The UN recorded 5,600 deaths linked to gang violence last year, in a 20-percent increase compared to 2023, as well as 1,500 kidnappings, nearly 6,000 gender-based violence cases, 69 percent of which were instances of sexual assault. On Monday, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said authorities were "at war" with the gangs. "We are relentlessly committed to enabling the police, the army and MSS to put gangs out of action," he promised in a speech to mark his 100 days in office. str-abo/aem/des/md
