Between March and July, at least 613 people have been killed and another 375 injured in Haiti, amid clashes between criminal gangs controlling Port-au-Prince and attacks by security forces, according to a new United Nations report. The report details the escalation of armed violence to one of the worst levels recorded in two years.
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Most of the incidents described in the report occurred between the Cité Soleil commune and the area known as the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, a zone where popular neighborhoods and industrial warehouses converge, as well as the container port, the capital’s international airport, and the two main roads connecting to the north of the country and the oil terminal.
“90% of the deceased and injured were documented in gang violence incidents; nearly 9% during security forces operations; and 1% as a result of popular violence acts against people suspected of being affiliated with gangs,” says the document prepared by the Human Rights Service of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and provided to EL PAÍS. Of this group, almost a third (214 deceased and 139 injured) had no relation to the conflict or gangs and were hit by stray bullets or assaulted under suspicion of having links with rival gangs or security forces; among them are 111 women and 77 children.
As a consequence of these clashes, more than 18,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and about 176 women and girls, aged between 10 and 71, have been victims of sexual abuse committed by members of criminal gangs, according to the United Nations. Experts also report links between officials of the Haitian National Police (HNP) and these groups, noting that at least five officers have been detained for participating in kidnappings, acting as gang escorts, and supplying them with weapons and ammunition.
The United Nations Office in Haiti had not documented so many clashes and human rights violations in this part of the capital since early 2024, when 402 people died and 254 were injured in territorial battles between the criminal alliances G9 and G-PèP.
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In the report published on August 6, they attribute the intensification of violence to the reconfiguration and weakening of Viv Ansanm, the coalition led by Jimmy Chérizier (alias Barbecue) that managed to unite various gangs from the G9 and G-PèP factions. They also link it to the increase in security operations that began at the end of 2025 in some areas controlled by criminal gangs; between March and July there have been about 20 operations carried out by special units of the Haitian National Police, in some cases with the support of private military companies hired to combat gangs. In those attacks, at least 55 people have died and 41 have been injured; at least 30 of the victims had no relation to the criminal gangs.
This year’s violence has occurred in four major waves, according to the report, with days and weeks of great intensity. The cycle began on March 6 with clashes between the Tokyo, 400 Mawozo, and Canaan gangs against Chen Mechan, Pierre VI, and Terre Noire, which left at least 74 dead and another 76 injured in one week. Then, on March 28, nine Canaan gang members died in four attacks with explosive drones launched by a private military company. Hostilities decreased after mediation promoted by companies still operating in the area. On April 19, clashes increased again, with 117 dead and 125 injured in one week. On May 10, they resumed with at least 147 people dead and another 75 injured in four days. Fighting continued in June: on the 13th, at the end of the World Cup soccer match between Haiti and Scotland, 61 people died and 20 were injured in an attack against a street celebration; then the gang fighting continued adding murders and expanded its territory to reach the Varreux fuel terminal area.
Meanwhile, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) has not yet fully deployed. The GSF is an international force with 5,550 personnel authorized by the United Nations Security Council in October 2025 to combat gangs, facilitate humanitarian aid access, and protect the population and state infrastructure. According to the report, this force “conducted regular patrols in certain areas of Cité Soleil but did not participate in operations against gangs.” Both Haiti’s Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and GSF representatives have requested more international support to be able to act.