In a new report (March to July 31, 2026) by William O’Neill, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Haiti, published by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), it was stated that "gangs continue to terrorize communities in Haiti, deliberately inflicting unimaginable suffering on people who are often simply in the wrong place at the wrong time..."

The report reveals that at least 613 people were killed and 375 others injured in the Cul-de-Sac Plain and Cité Soleil alone during the period analyzed. More than a third of the victims were people with no ties to gangs, including 111 women and 77 children.

The report also indicates that more than 176 women and girls, aged 10 to 71, were victims of rape or gang rape committed by suspected gang members.

More than 18,000 people were also forced to flee their homes.

The report highlights several cases documented by United Nations human rights observers.

"[...] Two 17-year-old boys were shot dead by a gang leader after being accused of passing information to a rival gang [...] A 71-year-old man was killed by a gang leader after approaching him to ask for food [...] Seventeen boys between the ages of 15 and 17 were executed by gang members who suspected them of working for a rival gang [..] Shortly after the World Cup football match between Haiti and Scotland, a group of about 300 people, including a musical ensemble, went to a neighborhood where they were attacked by a gang, some of whose members were positioned on rooftops. At least 61 people were killed and 20 others wounded.” Among the victims were at least seven children, the youngest of whom was barely seven years old [..] a woman was raped by a group of armed men after they burned down her house and killed her husband and her young daughter, who was barely two years old. She was raped in front of her ten-year-old son [...]"

Download the full report by William O’Neill (PDF in French, 33 pages) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Flash-Report-Intensification-des-violences-des-gangs-dans-la-zone-de-la-Plaine-du-Cul-de-Sac-et-%C3%A0-Cit%C3%A9-Soleil-mars---juillet-2026.pdf

HL/ HaitiLibre