Haiti Records Over 1,500 Deaths From Armed Violence in Second Quarter of 2025

Despite the presence of an international security mission led by Kenya, Haiti continues to suffer from gang-related violence, with 1,520 deaths and more than 600 injuries reported in the second quarter of 2025.

According to a report by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), between April 1 and June 30, 64% of the killings were carried out by security forces, 24% by gangs, and the remaining 12% by self-defense groups.

Of the victims, 87% were men, 11% were women, and 2% were children, BINUH reported.

Additionally, during the same period, 628 people were victims of sexual violence, and around 185 were kidnapped, with 63% of abductions occurring in the Artibonite department in western Haiti.

BINUH noted that while security operations have been reinforced in the capital, Port-au-Prince—where gang violence has decreased—armed groups have expanded their attacks to the central region and intensified their presence in southern Artibonite.

The UN office has recommended that Haitian authorities accelerate the establishment of specialized judicial units, ban security force personnel implicated in human rights violations, and strengthen rehabilitation programs for minors associated with gangs.

Since early 2024, Haiti has been gripped by a surge in violence, which led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Following Henry’s departure, a Presidential Transitional Council was formed to stabilize the country and establish a Provisional Electoral Council tasked with organizing the first elections in a decade.

The deployment of the international security force has been viewed by some as a new mechanism to justify further foreign intervention in the Caribbean nation.