MORE than 4,800 people were killed across Haiti in the nine-month period between October 2024 and June 2025 sparking fresh calls for the international community to do more to stop the blood-letting in the country.

The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office on Friday released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.

“Escalating gang violence outside Port-au-Prince — where the presence of the State is extremely limited — has claimed over 1,000 lives and forced hundreds of thousands to flee since October 2024,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a biweekly press briefing in Geneva.

She argued that the mass killing in Pont Sondé in the Lower Artibonite region in October 2024 marked a major turning point in the cycle of violence between gangs and the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups.

Shamdasani pointed out that several other mass killings followed the October 2024 massacre, causing mass displacement, including in the town of Mirebalais, which earlier this year saw all its 100,000 residents flee.

“Between 1 October 2024 and 30 June this year, the total number of killings across Haiti was 4,864. Of these, at least 1,018 people have been killed in Artibonite and Centre areas, as well as in Ganthier and Fonds Parisien in the west of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area,” Shamdasani said.

The report shows how violence has increased sharply in recent months, especially in the Lower Artibonite and Centre departments, as gangs continue to extend their influence along key routes in the north and centre of the country, and towards the Dominican Republic.

“The expansion of gang territorial control poses a major risk of spreading violence and increasing transnational trafficking in arms and people,” the spokeswoman stressed.

The report notes that Haitian authorities have deployed specialised police units, supported by the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, to some extent slowing the gangs’ advances. Ultimately, however, given their lack of resources, they have been unable to reassert control over the affected areas.

According to the report, human rights abuses by self-defence groups have increased while executions involving Haitian security forces have also been committed against individuals accused of supporting gangs.

“Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces as well as abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups,” Shamdasani said.

“The human rights violations and abuses that we have documented are further evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to step up to end this violence.

“We call on the Haitian authorities to ensure police have the necessary resources to tackle the gangs, with full respect for international human rights law. Specialised judicial units are needed to combat corruption and mass crimes, including sexual violence,” Shamdasani added.

“It is crucial that the international community strengthens its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population,” she argued.

According to Shamdasani, the international community also needs to ensure and maintain BINUH’s full operational capacity so that the office can continue to advise and support the Haitian Government in its efforts to strengthen good governance and ensure the respect for, and promotion of, human rights.

She underscored that the strengthening of the MSS mission and the full implementation of the arms embargo will be equally essential to restore security and the rule of law in Haiti.