Haiti: At least 234 dead or injured in Cité Soleil, near Port-au-Prince, between July 8 and 12… – 20 Minutes

At least 234 people were killed or injured between July 8 and July 12, victims of gang violence raging in Cité Soleil, the most disadvantaged commune in the agglomeration of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. , announced the UN on Saturday. “Most of the victims are not directly linked to the gangs but were targeted by gang members and we have also received new information on sexual violence”, writes the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner United for Human Rights, which recorded 934 murders, 684 injuries and 680 kidnappings over the period from January to the end of June 2022. WorseningA previous report from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights – an NGO – reported 89 dead, 74 wounded and 16 missing. “We are deeply concerned about the worsening violence in Port-au-Prince and the increase in human rights violations being committed against the local population by heavily armed gangs,” writes Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for Haut- police station. “We urge the authorities to uphold all human rights and put them at the heart of their actions in this crisis. The fight against impunity and sexual violence, as well as the strengthening of human rights and the monitoring of their application must remain a priority. “The police do not intervene” We call on those who are responsible for and support this armed violence to immediately stop and respect the lives and work of all Haitians, who for the most part live in poverty, “said the door- speech, in a call that is unlikely to be heard. Since Friday, the bursts of automatic weapons crackle all day long in Cité Soleil, the most disadvantaged and densely populated municipality in the metropolitan area: two factions of gangs clash there without the police, in lack of men and equipment, intervening. Impunity Along the corridors of slums that have formed there over the past four decades, thousands of families have no choice but to hide in their homes, without being able to obtain water and food. Some residents are victims of stray bullets even inside their modest housing, made of simple sheet metal, but ambulances are not allowed to circulate freely in the area to help the injured. These deadly clashes between gangs affect the all activities throughout the capital because it is in Cité Soleil that the oil terminal that supplies Port-au-Prince and all of northern Haiti is located. Throughout the capital, gas stations no longer distribute a drop of fuel, drastically driving up prices on the black market. economic and of all nationalities. Enjoying widespread impunity, the criminal gangs have amplified their actions over the weeks: at least 155 kidnappings were committed in June against 118 in May, reported the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, in its latest report released on Wednesday.