The United Nations now says 207 people were killed near a slum in the capital, Port-au-Prince, earlier this month.

UN raises death toll from latest mass killings in Haiti, says investigation finds 207 people killed Killed by a gangwhich included dozens of elderly people and voodoo religious leaders.

In a report released on Monday, the United Nations Office in Haiti detailed events that took place in Haiti between December 6 and 11. near Jeremy’s Pier Cité Soleil is a coastal slum in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The report found that the gang took people from their homes and places of worship, interrogated them and “executed” them with bullets and machetes before burning their bodies and throwing them into the sea.

Earlier this month, Haitian human rights groups estimated More than 100 people were killed But a new UN investigation concluded that a total of 134 men and 73 women were massacred.

“We cannot pretend that nothing happened,” said Maria Isabel Salvador, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti.

“I call on the Haitian justice system to thoroughly investigate these horrific crimes and arrest and punish the perpetrators and those who support them,” she said in a statement.

The Haitian government acknowledged the killings of the elderly in a statement earlier this month and pledged to prosecute those responsible for the “unspeakable massacre.”

The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on Monday condemning the latest gang killings and expressing “deep concern” about the crisis in Haiti, highlighting food insecurity and Gangs recruit children.

insecurity and isolation

To date, insecurity in Haiti has worsened; The United Nations recently ordered Some people left the country or moved from the capital to safer areas.

Country increasingly isolated after Port-au-Prince international airport closed to commercial travelers The plane was hit by gunfire.

The United Nations is discussing what measures to take in Haiti after an international security mission led by 400 Kenyan police officers worked to restore law and order.

One option under consideration is to resume full peacekeeping operations, despite mixed results from previous deployments, including the “stabilization” mission MINUSTAH, which ran from 2004 until its departure in 2017.

“King Micano”

Haitian human rights group calls Pier Jeremy The killing begins After the son of local gang leader Micano Altes died of illness.

Witnesses told the groups that Artes, alias “King Micano,” accused nearby people of casting an evil spell on his son, which caused his illness.

Altes’ gang tracked people in their homes and places of worship, where they were first interrogated and then taken to a location where they were killed, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.

The killings are the latest humanitarian tragedy in Haiti, which has seen increasing gang violence since the killing of President Jovenel Moise. 2021 coup attempt.

The Caribbean country is currently run by a transitional council that includes representatives from business, civil society and political parties, but its government has no control over many areas of the capital and gangs continue to fight for ports, highways and neighborhoods.

Gang wars in Haiti this year have killed more than 5,358 people and injured another 2,155, according to the United Nations. Since the beginning of 2022, more than 17,000 people have been killed or injured in gang-related violence in Haiti.