China News Service, Beijing, January 24th, Port-au-Prince News: In the past year, nearly 5,000 people died in crimes in Haiti, and one-tenth of the country's police stations were attacked by gangs.

A report released by the United Nations on the 23rd local time showed that gangs in Haiti have become extremely rampant.

　　The report said that Haiti's reported homicides in 2023 more than doubled from the previous year, with the number of victims as high as 4,789, equivalent to 40.9 homicides per 100,000 residents.

From October to December 2023 alone, there were 1,432 officially recorded intentional homicides and 698 kidnapping victims.

Sexual crimes are also very serious, with gang members in many areas kidnapping and raping women and girls in broad daylight.

The capital, Port-au-Prince, is the area most affected by gang violence, with more than 40% of homicide and injury victims in the country.

　　The report points out that Haitian gangs continue to recruit children and disadvantaged youth to join local communities, and their power has grown alarmingly.

Gangs in many provinces have built concrete bunkers and used Molotov cocktails and traps to repel police attacks; more and more gang members are wearing fake police uniforms to carry out kidnappings.

They are also increasing their control over major transport routes and economic activities, restricting freedom of movement within local communities.

Gangs even control Port-au-Prince's largest underground water source, which supplies water to 1.5 million people, and illegally charge private and commercial vehicles in and out of the capital.

　　The report said that in 2023, more than 45 of the 412 police stations in Haiti were attacked; the four police district substations in the urban area of ​​Port-au-Prince were abandoned due to repeated attacks by gangs.

The number of police officers has also been significantly reduced. In 2023, a total of 1,663 police officers resigned, while 48 police officers were killed and 75 police officers were injured.

In addition, of the 47 armored vehicles owned by the Haitian National Police, 19 were damaged due to gang attacks, and only 21 are available for use; the National Police's 2023-2024 budget increased by 13% to 27.41 billion Haitian gourdes (approximately US$205 million) , but still cannot meet the needs.

　　The report pointed out that due to the unstable domestic situation, Haiti's real GDP is expected to decline by 2.5% in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

The report calls on United Nations member states to increase support for Haiti.

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