A leading human rights group in Haiti warned about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings as the UN Security Council met Friday to discuss the country’s worsening violence.
In a report issued Thursday, the National Human Rights Defense Network also condemned what it called the government’s inaction.
It noted that from May 1 to July 12, at least 75 people were killed and another 40 abducted. Among those killed are an attorney, a schoolboy, two morticians, and at least six police officers. Those kidnapped include a female journalist from Radio Vision 2000 who was later released.
The violence recently forced Doctors Without Borders to suspend treatment at one of their hospitals in Port-au-Prince after the group said some 20 armed men burst into an operating room and abducted a patient.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has insisted on an international force to help Haiti’s National Police, with one UN expert estimating that Haiti needs up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers.
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