The United Nations Calls More Than 10,000 Haitians Refuge From Gang Attacks In The Last Week

Riots in Haiti. (Wikimedia Commons/Voice of America)

JAKARTA - More than 10,000 people in Haiti have been internally displaced in the past week as armed gangs operating inside and around the capital Port-au-Prince escalated attacks on areas they had not yet controlled, the UN migration agency estimated on Thursday.

The agency said in early September more than 700.000 people took refuge internally across the Caribbean nation, nearly double the figure six months earlier.

The gangs in the past week have stepped up attacks on a number of cities outside the capital, where most of the cities and outskirts are under the control of various united armed groups under a joint alliance known as Viv Ansanm.

The conflict sparked hunger in some residents as gangs took over agricultural land and blocked transport routes. Meanwhile, people who are forced to leave their homes, often to accommodate family or emergency camps, can no longer depend on fixed income to buy food.

Although the United Nations has authorized international forces to help Haitian police take control of the gangs, the mission lacks resources and its impact has not been significant.

Haitian leaders have asked the troops to be turned into a formal peacekeeping mission to shore up resources, an initiative rejected last month by China and Russia.

Gangs that previously targeted national police, civil self-defense groups, and state infrastructure have also begun targeting foreign vehicles.

The US Embassy in Haiti told Reuters its two armored vehicles had been targeted by a gang fire on Monday. One of the vehicles was hit by several shots, although no one was injured or injured.

A UN helicopter with a clear identity carrying 18 people on board was also hit on Thursday while flying over Port-au-Prince, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said in a statement to Reuters.

No one was injured and the helicopter landed safely, according to WFP.