UN: "At Least 234 Casualties in Five Days Due to Haiti Gang Violence"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The United Nations has reported that at least 234 casualties occurred over five days due to gang violence in Haiti, a poor country in the Caribbean.

On the 16th (local time), Jeremy Lawrence, spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated in a press release, "At least 234 people were killed or injured in the gang violence in Haiti from the 8th to the 12th." This casualty report is based on the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report on the gang violence that occurred in the Cit? Soleil area near Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

The violence is known to have been caused by two gangs named 'G9' and 'GPEP' competing for dominance in the Cit? Soleil area. OCHA reports that similar conflicts in Haiti have resulted in 934 deaths, 684 injuries, and 680 kidnappings in the Port-au-Prince area from January to June this year.

Spokesperson Lawrence said, "The heavily armed gangs are conducting organized attacks," adding, "Most of the victims were targeted despite not being directly involved with the gangs, and we have also received new reports of sexual violence."

The United Nations Security Council, which deployed peacekeeping forces to Haiti, decided the previous day to extend the activities of the UN office in Haiti for another year and to strengthen the peacekeeping forces' security operations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.