Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in Haiti since October 2024, with hundreds of thousands displaced amid a dramatic surge in gang violence—especially in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince—according to a new report released Friday by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).The ongoing violence is deepening Haiti’s humanitarian crisis, further destabilizing the country and raising alarm over potential spillover effects across the wider Caribbean region.- Advertisement - “Violence increased sharply in recent months,” the OHCHR report noted. Ulrika Richardson, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, added in a press release, “Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited. The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities.”Between October 2024 and June 2025, 4,864 people have been killed amid worsening gang violence nationwide, with more than 1,000 of those deaths occurring in Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas.Armed gangs have steadily expanded their control across Haiti, overwhelming national security forces and paralyzing the operations of international aid organizations. The resulting chaos has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The healthcare system is also crumbling under the pressure. Several hospitals—including the prominent University Hospital of Mirebalais—have closed due to security concerns. According to U.N. estimates, fewer than 25 percent of health facilities around Port-au-Prince remain operational.The U.N. report warns that unchecked gang violence not only threatens to collapse Haiti’s internal stability but also risks destabilizing the broader Caribbean region. https://nycaribnews.com/haiti-over-5000-killed-by-gangs-in-8-months-as-violence-spreads-says-un/