UN raises death toll for recent Cite Soleil massacre in Haiti’s capital | Human Rights News

Now the UN says 207 people were killed in a slum in the capital Port-au-Prince earlier this month.

The United Nations has raised the death toll in the latest mass killing in Haiti, saying its investigation put 207 people dead. was killed by the gangincluding dozens of elderly people and Vodou religious leaders.

In a report published on Monday, the UN office in Haiti detailed the events that took place between December 6 and 11. Wharf Jeremie neighborhood Cite Soleil is a coastal slum in the capital Port-au-Prince.

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

Human rights groups in Haiti predicted as much earlier this month More than 100 people died However, a new UN investigation concluded that only 134 men and 73 women were killed in the incident.

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

“I call on the Haitian justice system to thoroughly investigate these horrific crimes and arrest and punish the perpetrators as well as those who support them,” he said.

In a statement released earlier this month, the Haitian government acknowledged the killing of the elderly and vowed to prosecute those responsible for the “speechless massacre.”

The UN Security Council issued a statement on Monday condemning the latest gangland killings and expressing “deep concern” over the crisis in Haiti, calling for food security and involvement of children in support.

Insecurity and isolation

Security in Haiti has deteriorated to date The UN recently ordered to leave the country or move some of its employees from the capital to safer areas.

The country is increasingly isolated after Port-au-Prince international airport was closed to commercial passengers the planes were fired upon.

The UN is debating what steps to take in Haiti after an international security mission led by 400 Kenyan police struggled to restore order.

One option being considered is a return to a full-scale peacekeeping operation, despite the mixed results of previous deployments, including MINUSTAH, a “stabilization” mission that lasted from 2004 until its withdrawal in 2017.

“King Micanor”

Human rights groups in Haiti said Jeremie Wharf the killings began after the son of local gang leader Micanor Altes dies of illness.

Witnesses told the group that Altes, nicknamed “King Micanor,” accused people in the neighborhood of casting an evil spell on his son and causing his illness.

In a report on Monday, the UN said the people were followed by Altes’ gang into their homes and places of worship, where they were first interrogated and then taken to the place where they would be killed.

The killings are the latest humanitarian tragedy in Haiti, where gang violence has intensified since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. 2021 coup attempt.

The Caribbean country is currently governed by a transitional council that includes representatives from the business community, civil society and political parties, but its government does not control many areas of the capital, and gangs regularly battle over ports, highways and neighborhoods.

According to the UN, more than 5,358 people were killed and 2,155 others were injured in the fighting between gangs in Haiti this year. More than 17,000 people have been killed or injured in gang-related violence in Haiti since the start of 2022.