The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Trk, says despite some success in containing their activity in parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the criminal gangs in Haiti ‘continue to adapt and expand, re-emerging in new areas and constantly rearming.
‘My heart goes out to the people of Haiti, often trapped between gang violence and heavy-handed responses,’ Volker told the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council on the update on the human rights situation in Haiti.
He said the recent attacks in Kenscoff and Gressier, and the growing gang presence in the Sud-Est department, point to a strategy of seizing new territory and key transport routes, threatening stability across and beyond Haiti and leaving destruction in its wake.
On Monday, at least 11 people were killed and several others injured in the Gros-Morne’s third communal section as criminal gangs went on a shooting spree.
The interim Mayor, Hubert Cénéac, said the killings followed a confrontation between the Kokorat San Ras gang and a Sri Lankan contingent of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in the nearby Savane Longue communal section.