UN says Haiti's murder rate rose from July to Sept

 

More than 1,200 people were killed from July to September in Haiti, increasing 27 per cent from the previous quarter in the gang-ravaged country, according to a UN report released Wednesday.

"1,223 people were killed and 522 injured as a result of gang violence and the fight against gangs; this represents a 32 per cent drop in killings and injuries compared with the first quarter, but an increase of 27 per cent compared with the second quarter," the quarterly report stated.

Most of the deaths -- 47 per cent -- were attributed to gangs, but 45 per cent were the result of law enforcement operations, the report said.

"At least 106 extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions were carried out by law enforcement officials ... Among the victims were six children aged approximately ten years old," the report said.

The report also highlighted a 40 per cent increase in the number of acts of violence committed by self-defence groups or unorganized members of the population, known as the "Bwa Kale" movement.

They made up some eight per cent of the overall killings.

At "least 122 individuals, either presumed gang members or accused of common crimes, including animal or telephone theft, were killed with extreme brutality by the population," the report stated.

"During these incidents, victims were mutilated with machetes, stoned, decapitated, burned alive or buried alive," it continued.

"Children were not spared. One of the most violent incidents took place in the locality of Les Palmes, in the commune of Petit Goave, where, on September 5, a 15-year-old boy, accused of stealing a pig, was hit with a machete before being buried alive."

The report also said 170 people were kidnapped during those months.

That "represents a decrease of 64% compared with the first quarter and 60 per cent compared with the second," it said.

Persistent use of sexual violence against women and girls continues, it said.