Since November 1, armed groups have been trying to control the area leading to the country’s main city, despite police operations to prevent them from doing so.

Violence caused hundreds of families to flee the town, while at least two officers and several residents were killed.

Police also killed several members and forced others to retreat during their operations. The gangs began kidnapping citizens to use them for criminal purposes, most of them motorcycle cab drivers operating in the area, according to local press.

The armed groups currently control more than 80% of the country´s capital and extend their influence to different departments including Artibonite, where over 1,600 Haitians were assassinated, kidnapped or injured from July to October, according to a report by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the other hand, informed that from January to October the violence unleashed by gangs left 3,960 dead, 1,432 wounded and 2,951 victims of kidnappings nationwide.

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