UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥 The United States on Tuesday extended its ban on flights to Haiti鈥檚 capital until Sept. 8 because of escalating gang violence, which the U.N.鈥檚 human rights expert on the Caribbean nation said is more dire than ever.
The Federal Aviation Administration鈥檚 announcement extends a ban on U.S. flights to Port-au-Prince that began in November after gangs opened fire on three commercial planes. The initial ban was set to expire on Wednesday.
William O鈥橬eill, the U.N. human rights commissioner鈥檚 expert on , who just visited the country for the fourth time since his appointment two years ago, told U.N. reporters on Tuesday that the is worse, as is 鈥渢he pain and despair of an entire population.鈥
Despite efforts by Haiti鈥檚 national police and a U.N.-backed Kenya-led multinational police force, he said, 鈥渢he risk of the capital falling under gang control is palpable.鈥
鈥淭hese violent criminal groups continue to extend and consolidate their hold even beyond the capital,鈥 O鈥橬eill said. 鈥淭hey kill, rape, terrorize, set fire to homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, places of worship.鈥
He said the gangs have infiltrated all spheres of society, 鈥渨ith the utmost impunity and, sometimes, as many sources point out, with the complicity of powerful actors,鈥
The gangs have grown in power since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mo茂se and are now estimated to control up to 85% of the capital.
O鈥橬eill said over 1 million people have been displaced, with nowhere to go. In makeshift camps, he said, hunger and sexual violence are widespread and 鈥渇or many it's a matter of survival.鈥
He urged to fight the impunity and corruption that he said were the major obstacles to dismantling the gangs. He said they must also beef up the police force, which he said numbered 9,000 to 10,000 in a country of 11 million people, compared with about 50,000 in the neighboring Dominican Republic, which has a similar population.
O鈥橬eill called for a substantial reinforcement of the multinational force, which started arriving last June and now numbers about 1,000 police. He said a well-equipped force of 2,500 鈥渃ould have an enormous impact on controlling, dismantling, overpowering the gangs.鈥
He said both the international force and the Haitian police need more mobility 鈥 helicopters and better ground vehicles 鈥 as well as night vision goggles and body armor.
U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres recently that logistics and equipment for the , including drones, fuel, ground and air transportation, be funded from the U.N. budget 鈥 instead of the current fund that relies on voluntary contributions. That fund would be used to pay the international police.
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