Haiti, the poorest country in the Caribbean, is ravaged by gang violence, with gangs multiplying bloody attacks, kidnappings, and rapes. Violent clashes between several gangs in the suburbs of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, have left at least 78 people dead, including 10 uninvolved residents, since Saturday, May 9, according to a provisional toll communicated on Thursday, May 14, to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (Binuh).
“The armed clashes between several gangs in the communes of Cité-Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets have left at least 78 dead and 66 injured since May 9,” Binuh stated, specifying that 10 of those killed were “members of the population (five men, four women, and one young girl).”
In a country terrorized by gangs, these two communes in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince had already experienced two other flare-ups of violence in March and April, leading to the displacement of nearly 8,000 people, according to the UN.
“In total, between March 5 and May 11, 2026, at least 305 people were killed and 277 injured in the communes of Cité-Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets,” Binuh detailed on Thursday, noting that 63 of those killed were residents (including 17 women and 13 children), while the others were gang members. The latest escalation since the weekend has resulted in the displacement of around 5,300 people fleeing the gunfire.
Trapped families and evacuated hospitals
For its part, the UN humanitarian operations office (OCHA) affirmed on Thursday that, according to local humanitarian organizations, several families remain trapped in the affected neighborhoods. A medical center and a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital were also forced to suspend operations and evacuate their staff. Before evacuating, Médecins Sans Frontières had reported treating 40 gunshot victims in less than twelve hours.
Haiti is devastated by gang violence, and the situation has steadily deteriorated over the past two years. The Gang Repression Force is currently being deployed to replace the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM), which was under-equipped and under-funded. However, at this stage, only a contingent of 400 Chadian soldiers has arrived in Port-au-Prince. On the other hand, the new force announced on Thursday the arrival of its commander, Mongolian General Erdenebat Batsuuri.
