UN raises alarm over Haiti’s deadly gang crisis
Gang violence in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels, claiming over 1,000 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands since October 2024, according to a new report by the United Nations.
The violence, once concentrated in the capital, has now spread alarmingly across the country, threatening broader regional destabilisation.
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The joint report by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office warns that escalating attacks by armed groups in areas with limited state presence are fuelling a humanitarian and security crisis that could spill over into neighbouring Caribbean nations, including the Dominican Republic.
Number of deaths
Between 1 October 2024 and 30 June 2025, at least 1,018 people were killed, 213 were injured, and 620 were abducted in the Artibonite and Centre departments and in towns west of Port-au-Prince, including Ganthier and Fonds Parisien.
Nationwide, the death toll from gang-related violence during this period reached 4,864, the report reveals.
“Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited,” Ulrika Richardson, acting Head of BINUH and UN Resident Coordinator, said.
“The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population.”
The report identifies the Pont Sondé massacre in October 2024—which left over 100 people dead—as a turning point in the conflict between gangs and vigilante “self-defence” groups.
Mass displacement
Towns such as Mirebalais, once home to 100,000 residents, have become ghost towns due to mass displacement.
Despite the deployment of specialised police units and support from the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, the Haitian government has struggled to contain the violence. Limited resources have hindered efforts to reclaim gang-controlled territory.
Worryingly, the report documents rising human rights abuses not only by gangs but also by security forces and community militias. Cases of summary executions of suspected gang affiliates by security agents and vigilante reprisals have increased.
“Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
