GENEVA: More than 2,400 people have been killed in Haiti this year amid rampant gang violence, including hundreds killed in lynching by mobs, the United Nations (UN) said Friday.
The toll comes as gang violence in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, this week left thirty residents dead and over a dozen injured.
Ravina Shamdasani, UN rights office spokeswoman, said that at least 2,439 people have been killed and 902 wounded between 1 January and 15 August 2023. She said that 951 people have also been abducted during the same period.
Rise in popular justice movements in Haiti
Ravina said that over 350 people have been lynched by mobs and local people, adding that of those, 310 were suspected gang members and one was a police officer. Dozens of houses were torched in the assaults and two police officers were also killed, according to National Human Rights Defense Network.
Violent crimes, including kidnapping, rape, and armed theft are common in the country. Authorities confirmed that in recent days violence in the area has caused about five thousand residents to flee.
Ravina said that reports from the country this week had highlighted the extreme condition of the violence faced by people and the grave impact that it is having on their human rights.
