More than 10,000 Haitians Flee Gang Attacks in Past Week, UN Says

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – More than 10,000 people in Haiti have been internally displaced in the last week as armed gangs operating in and around the capital Port-au-Prince ramp up attacks on areas they do not yet control, according to U.N. migration agency estimates on Thursday.

The agency had said at the start of September that more than 700,000 people were internally displaced across the Caribbean nation, nearly double the figure six months earlier. Gangs have in the last week been ramping up attacks on a number of towns outside the capital, where much of the city and its suburbs is under the control of various violent armed groups united under a common alliance known as Viv Ansanm.

The conflict is fueling famine-level hunger in parts of the population, as gangs take over farmlands and block key transport routes. Many people forced to flee their homes—often to stay with host families or in makeshift camps—have lost reliable income sources and are struggling to afford food. Although the U.N. authorized an international force to help Haiti’s police take back control from the gangs, the mission has been under-resourced and has had limited impact.

People flee their homes from gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol.

Haitian leadership has requested that the international force be converted into a formal peacekeeping mission to strengthen resources, but this initiative was blocked last month by China and Russia.

Gangs, previously focused on targeting the national police, civilian defense groups, and state infrastructure, have now begun attacking foreign vehicles as well.

The U.S. embassy in Haiti told news agencies that on Monday, two of its armored vehicles were targeted by gang gunfire. One was hit by multiple rounds. Fortunately, no one was injured.

On Thursday, a marked U.N. helicopter carrying 18 people was also hit by gunfire while flying over Port-au-Prince, according to a statement from the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) to Reuters.

No injuries were reported, and the helicopter landed safely, the WFP confirmed.