Officials said that more than 5,600 deaths were reported in Haiti during the past year, as a U.N. mission led by Kenya tries to curb rampant gang-related violence.

According to the U.N. Human Rights Office, the number of murders has increased by over 20% since 2023. It also reported that more than 2,200 injuries and almost 1,500 kidnappings had occurred.

In a press release, Volker Turk (U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights) said that “these figures alone do not capture the horrors perpetrated by the Haitian government, but they demonstrate the violence unrelenting to which the people of Haiti are subjected.”

Two journalists and a cop were among the victims killed by gunmen who opened fire at a crowd gathered for the much-anticipated reopening on Christmas Eve of Haiti’s largest public hospital which had been closed earlier in the year due to gang violence.

In recent years, more than 700,000 Haitians have been left homeless by gang violence. Many of them are now living in unsanitary and makeshift shelters after gunmen destroyed their homes.

Garry Joseph, 55: “I watched family members being murdered and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.” Garry Joseph now lives with hundreds of other people who fled their homes in an abandoned government building. Everyone was running for their life the night we were forced to leave.

According to the U.N., more than 200 Haitians were killed by gang members in an early December slum in which they controlled. The gang leader was attempting to avenge the death of his son following Vodou’s rites. This was the largest massacre in Port-au-Prince’s recent history.

Anita Jean-Marie said of gang members, “It is time for them to die.” “They have made the lives of people unbearable.”

The mother of two young boys, 49 years old, lives in a shelter overcrowded after gangs forced them to leave their home. “We have no idea what the fight is about.”

The U.N. reported that 315 suspected gangsters or those associated with them were killed in lynchings and over 280 others were killed by the police during alleged summary executions.

Turk stated that it has been obvious for a long time that corruption and impunity are prevalent in Haiti.

He demanded more financial and logistical support for the U.N. mission, which began in early June as the U.S.A. and other nations called for a U.N. mission to maintain peace.

Around 400 Kenyan police officers are leading the mission. They were joined a few days ago by 150 Central American military police officers, with the majority coming from Guatemala. Jamaica, Bahamas, and Belize sent personnel while Barbados, Bangladesh, and Chad also pledged to send personnel. However, it’s not clear when the deployment will take place.

The mission is still far short of the 2,500 officers that were expected.

Sunrise Airways, another blow to Haitian stability, announced on Monday that it will temporarily suspend flights from and to Port-au-Prince. 85% of the city is controlled by criminal gangs. The airline did not give a reason for the suspension, only saying that it was due to circumstances beyond its control. It also said that the safety of crew and passengers was the top priority.

This is the third time in a row that the main international airport of the country has been left without commercial flights.

Joseph stated that there is no place you can go. Gangs control the main roads into and out of Port-au-Prince, and they randomly fire at public transportation. “Nobody in this country is safe, especially Port-au-Prince. Everyone is counting down the days.

In November, Port-au-Prince’s airport closed down after gangs fired on three planes. One of them was a Spirit Airlines aircraft that was in mid-flight and injured a flight attendant.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extended a December ban on U.S. flights to the capital of Haiti until March 12, out of safety concerns.

Rony Jean-Bernard is a former moto-taxi driver who now lives in a shelter. He said that gang violence forced him to depend on handouts.

He said that he lived on sugar and bread most of the time, noting how government officials had stopped giving out free meals in his shelter four months earlier.

“Every day is like darkness,” Bernard said. “I can’t see where life is taking me with this government in place that is making promises that things will get better. I hear that every day.”

Turk has called for all nations to stop deportations of Haitians as violence continues to escalate.

“The insecurity in Haiti and the resulting crisis of human rights in the country do not permit a safe, dignified, and sustainable return for Haitians.” “Yet, deportations continue,” he said.

Thomas Cartwright, a member of Witness at the Border (a group that tracks flight information) reports that under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, around 27,800 Haitians have been deported.

As part of a crackdown against migrants, the Dominican Republic, which shares Hispaniola island with Haiti, has deported over a quarter of a million people to Haiti in the past year.