Haiti's Crisis: Displacement and Armed Gang Influence Surge

Over 10,000 Haitians have been displaced amid escalating gang violence in Port-au-Prince. The U.N. reports an insufficiently resourced international force, although an appeal to convert it into a peacekeeping mission was blocked by China and Russia. Violence extends to foreign entities, impacting U.S. and U.N. vehicles.

Haiti is currently facing an acute crisis with more than 10,000 people displaced as a result of intensified attacks by armed gangs in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince. According to estimates from the U.N. migration agency released on Thursday, this marks a significant surge in internal displacement.

Earlier reports from the agency in September indicated that over 700,000 people were already displaced across the island nation, an alarming increase from six months prior. The violence, largely steered by a coalition of gangs known as Viv Ansanm, has driven famine-level hunger as these groups commandeer farmlands and obstruct transportation routes.

In addition to targeting national police and local civilian groups, gangs have now begun attacking foreign vehicles. This week, U.S. embassy vehicles and a U.N. helicopter were subjected to gunfire, bringing international focus to the escalating security threats in Haiti.

(With inputs from agencies.)