Over 470 people have been killed, injured, or gone missing as a result of gang violence in Haiti: UN

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• Jul 26, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

According to Ulrika Richardson, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, "the humanitarian needs in Cite Soleil are vast and are expanding due to poverty, a lack of basic services, including security, and a recent rise in violence." color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">

color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">Digital Desk: The United Nations reported
Monday that intense fights this month between rival gangs in Haiti's capital,
Port-au-Prince, resulted in at least 471 deaths, injuries, or missing persons.

In a
statement on the casualties of violence between July 8 and July 17 in the
underprivileged community of Cite Soleil, the United Nations said that
"serious incidences of sexual abuse against women and girls as well as
boys being recruited by gangs have also been documented."

How
many people died was not made clear.

According
to the statement, almost 3,000 individuals have fled their homes, including
hundreds of unaccompanied minors, and at least 140 homes have been destroyed.

According
to Ulrika Richardson, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, "the
humanitarian needs in Cite Soleil are vast and are expanding due to poverty, a
lack of basic services, including security, and a recent rise in
violence."

Although
Cite Soleil is receiving support from UN agencies, Richardson stated that
"a more sustainable and holistic solution needs to be devised for the
medium and long-term development of this symbolic commune."

A
spate of kidnappings has been committed by gangs that now operate outside the
boundaries of the Haitian capital's slums.

In a
report produced by the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, at
least 155 kidnappings were reported in June, compared to 118 in May.

color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">The violence that erupted in Cite Soleil at
the beginning of July has not yet been addressed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

The
2016 elections left Haiti in the midst of a political crisis, which was made
worse by President Jovenel Moise's murder at his house on July 7, 2021.