At least 5,700 killed, wounded in Haiti gang crisis this year: UN

UN human rights chief Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council that Haiti's gang crisis has killed or wounded at least 5,700 people this year through Sept. 11, including more than 1,000 women and girls raped and 230 kidnappings, figures he said are likely undercounts. He said gangs continue to expand and rearm despite the deployment of an international Gang Suppression Force intended to reach 5,500 personnel but currently staffed at about 1,500.

Türk also raised concern about disproportionate use of force by Haitian police and self-defense groups, noting more than half of this year's casualties occurred during security operations and that self-defense groups alone killed or injured about 280 people. Human rights expert William O'Neill said the situation is dire but not hopeless, arguing that a properly equipped force could target gang leadership directly and that many guns recovered from gangs trace back to gun shops in a handful of Florida zip codes.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.