Haiti gang violence displaced more than 300,000 children this year, UN says

More than 300,000 children are displaced in Haiti since gangs forced out Prime Minister Ariel Henry and took over the capital Port-au-Prince earlier this year, UNICEF says. Many children, some of whom are forced to join gangs, are living in makeshift shelters and lack access to food, health care, clean water and sanitation, the agency says.

Issued on: 02/07/2024 - 08:27 2 min

By: NEWS WIRES

Gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than 300,000 children since March, the U.N. children's agency said Tuesday as the Caribbean country struggles to curb killings and kidnappings.

Children are more than half of the nearly 580,000 people who have become homeless in the last four months. The spike in violence began in late February after a series of coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure eventually led Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign in April.

“The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is taking a devastating toll on children,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director, said in a statement. “Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, and increased support and funding from the international community.”

Gangs now control at least 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince and the key roads leading in and out of it, with more than 2,500 people killed or injured across the country in the first three months of the year, according to the U.N.

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