The number of people in Haiti who have fled their homes due to gang violence has risen threefold in the last year to over one million, the UN said on Tuesday.
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said its latest data “reveals that 1,041,000 people, many displaced multiple times, are struggling amidst an intensifying humanitarian crisis.”
“In December 2023, we (recorded) around 315,000 people were displaced from the violence,” IOM spokesman Kennedy Okoth Omondi told reporters.
“One year since then, we have seen the number tripled to over a million people who have now been displaced because of gang violence in Haiti.”
In the capital, Port-au-Prince, the IOM said displacement had risen by 87 percent “fueled by relentless gang violence, the collapse of essential services — particularly healthcare — and worsening food insecurity.”
The poor Caribbean country has been mired for decades by political instability, made worse in recent years by gangs that have grown in strength.
Despite a Kenyan-led police support mission, backed by the United States and the UN, violence has continued to burgeon.
Last week, the UN rights office said soaring gang violence in Haiti had left more than 5,600 people dead last year and thousands more injured or kidnapped.
“Haiti needs sustained humanitarian assistance right now to save and protect lives,” IOM director general Amy Pope said.
“We must work together to address the root causes of the violence and instability that has led to so much death and destruction.”
