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Over 60 percent of them have fled to Haiti’s southern provinces, which worries the UN.
– These areas do not have sufficient infrastructure or resources to cope with the large number of people fleeing Port-au-Prince, says UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
UN: The situation in Haiti is “cataclysmic”
The southern provinces are already home to more than 116,000 Haitians who previously left Port-au-Prince, according to the report by the United Nations International Organization for Migration IOM.
Around 3 million people have fled the capital as a result of the violent gang violence, which broke out at the end of February. Powerful gangs then launched a series of attacks on state institutions.
They have since burned down police stations and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates. Several of the gangs are led by ex-policeman Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier. He himself calls himself a revolutionary.
Former police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier heads the infamous G9 family, a confederation of several criminal gangs that now control large parts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. Photo: Odelyn Joseph / AP / NTB
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There have also been several shootings at Port-Au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport, which has been closed since the beginning of March.
Over 1,500 people have been reported killed and another 17,000 have been left homeless due to the violence, according to the UN.
