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Haiti: more than 5,600 deaths in 2024 due to gang violence

According to the United Nations, the number of people who were victims of crime in the Caribbean country soared last year compared to the data recorded in 2023.

Armed minors recruited by gangs in Haiti.Cordon Press.

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The unrelenting spiral of violence in Haiti perpetrated by gangs left a toll of more than 5,600 dead in 2024 - some 500 more victims than in 2023 - as assured by the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.

"These figures alone cannot account for the absolute horrors being perpetrated in Haiti, but they show the relentless violence to which the population is subjected," Türk stressed in a statement picked up by AFP.

Different violent groups control most of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. The impoverished Caribbean country has suffered for decades from political instability that has worsened in recent years due to the increased strength and organization of these groups.

In the statement, Türk detailed some of the most serious massacres that took place in 2024 in Haiti, such as the one perpetrated by the Wharf Jeremie gang in early December, in which at least 207 people were killed.

Authorities are failing to contain the violence in large part because of this political crisis in the country. Türk said that "restoring the rule of law must be a priority" and asked the international community involved for "the necessary logistical and financial support" to fight the gangsters.

Apart from the killings, hunger and poverty are deeply rooted in Haiti. Two consequences that have led to thousands of children being recruited by gang members for the purpose of committing crimes and becoming victims of child trafficking and sexual abuse.

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