Despite months of support from the United Nations, the security situation in Haiti has deteriorated as gang violence escalates.
In a Tuesday address to the Security Council, María Isabel Salvador, special representative of the secretary-general and head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, told the 15-member body that despite efforts to restore calm to the nation, over 700,000 Haitians remain displaced, and the Multinational Security Support Mission is under-resourced.
“The security situation remains extremely fragile, with renewed peaks of acute violence,” Salvador stated, adding that since her last briefing in July, “the situation in Haiti has regrettably worsened.”
Over the past three months, the number of internally displaced people has increased by 22%, Salvador reported.
The U.N. official noted that this rise coincided with the June deployment of Kenyan forces to assist the Haitian police, who have also been joined by forces from the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica.
However, despite plans to deploy approximately 3,000 security personnel to counter the gangs, only 430 personnel are currently deployed.
“It is far from enough,” Salvador said.
Gang violence, once concentrated in Haiti’s capital city, has expanded under an alliance of heavily armed gangs known as Viv Ansanm, extending beyond Port-au-Prince, with “murders, kidnappings and sexual violence of unprecedented brutality” reported across the country.
Salvador highlighted the horrific Oct. 3 attack on Port Sondé, where gangs surprised the town, approaching by canoe, and killed 115 people.
Among the victims found was a young mother, her newborn baby and a midwife, confirmed local official Bertide Harace, spokeswoman for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness.
At least another 10 women and three infants were also found among those killed.
The town, approximately 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince, was reportedly targeted by the gangs after it was believed to have collaborated with a defense group known as “The Coalition,” which was formed in opposition to the gang activity.
Salvador informed the Security Council that the Support Mission remains severely under-resourced, impacting its ability to collaborate effectively with the Haitian National Police and potentially hindering future deployments.
The U.N. official urged the body to increase their support for the Haitian security apparatus and to provide better funding for the Support Mission.
Funding has been lacking, and several U.N. representatives have pointed to persistent arms smuggling schemes, which continue to fuel violent gang activity.
Political ineptitude and corruption remain major concerns as the nation strives to establish its new government, formed in June, but losing public trust as divisions grow between the dual executive and presidential council.
Alongside the extreme violence, an estimated 5 million people in Haiti are facing hunger.