UN, aid groups warn Haiti unrest soaring
NEW YORK
Haiti has seen a "wave of extreme brutality" in recent weeks, with numerous killings and thousands forced to flee their homes, a consortium of U.N. agencies, NGOs and donors is warning.
"Entire families have been brutally wiped out in their homes, while others, including children and babies, have been shot dead as they tried to escape," the group, organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in a statement.
Gangs control large portions of Haiti, including the majority of the capital, and violence has soared despite the arrival of hundreds of police personnel as part of a Kenya-led multinational security support mission (MSS).
"We are deeply alarmed and dismayed by the unacceptable and inhuman intensity of the violence raging in Haiti, a wave of extreme brutality which, since the end of January, has resulted in the loss of many lives," the group said.
It said 4,000 people had been forced to flee the Kenscoff area of the capital, along with 2,000 more from the Delmas, Port-au-Prince and Petion-ville municipalities.
The group called on "all parties involved in this violence to break this cycle of terror and put an end to this uncontrolled spiral."
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has long been mired in instability, but conditions severely worsened early last year when gangs launched coordinated attacks in the capital.
The U.N.-approved MSS has around 1,000 personnel from six nations, though mostly from Kenya, out of 2,500 initially expected.
