On Monday, a multitude of individuals, a significant number of whom had veiled their faces to obscure their identities, paraded through the capital of Haiti. They were fervently calling for safeguarding against aggressive gangs that have been ransacking neighborhoods not only in the capital city of Port-au-Prince but also in surrounding areas.
“We want security!” the crowd chanted as it marched for two hours from the troubled community of Carrefour-Feuilles to Champ de Mars in the downtown area and then to the prime minister’s official residence, where police broke up the demonstration with tear gas.
In response, demonstrators took action by igniting tires and a vehicle owned by the state.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, analysts have noted that gangs have managed to take control over as much as 80% of Port-au-Prince. In these areas, they have been committing acts of violence, including killings and sexual assaults, while spreading fear among communities that are already grappling with severe poverty.
Between January and March, the latest U.N. report indicates that over 1,600 individuals have been reported as either killed, injured, or abducted. This marks an almost 30% surge when compared to the final three months of 2022.
Last October, the prime minister of Haiti, along with other high-ranking officials, urgently requested the deployment of an international force to help suppress the surge in gang-related violence.
Towards the end of July, Kenya offered to contribute to a multinational police force, though a resolution to authorize a non-U.N. multinational mission is yet to be voted upon by the U.N. Security Council.