UN reports 1,642 killed and 745 injured in Haiti in Q1 2026 amid gang attacks, security operations, and documented human rights abuses

At least 1,642 people were killed and 745 others injured in Haiti between January and March 2026 amid escalating gang violence and state security operations, according to a report released Friday by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).

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The UN report attributes 27% of the fatalities to armed gangs, while 69% occurred during operations carried out by security forces targeting these groups. It also notes that these operations resulted in civilian casualties, including children. The remaining 4% of deaths were linked to self-defense groups and members of the civilian population.

At least 69 people were reported killed or injured by explosive-laden drones, including five children.

BINUH head Carlos Ruiz Massieu said: “Despite advances in security in some areas of central Port-au-Prince, insecurity is daily and unsustainable for a large number of Haitians.”

While security operations have limited the territorial expansion of armed groups in parts of the capital, gangs have continued to carry out targeted killings, kidnappings, extortion, and destruction of property in areas under their control.

The report also documents widespread sexual violence attributed to gangs, with more than 292 victims, mainly women and girls aged 12 to 17. It details cases of collective rape and sexual exploitation, and states that armed groups use sexual violence and child trafficking as methods of punishment in territories they control.

During the first three months of 2026, at least one police officer was killed and nine others were injured.

In peripheral areas of Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite department, armed groups carried out further attacks. Between March 29 and March 31, coordinated assaults on 16 localities in Lower Artibonite targeted self-defense groups. At least 83 people were killed and 38 injured, with victims reportedly taken from their beds and shot outside their homes.

The report also highlights allegations of summary executions or attempted summary executions involving members of the Haitian National Police (PNH), resulting in at least 33 deaths in specific areas of the capital.

BINUH urged the Haitian government to accelerate rigorous vetting within the police force and to ensure that officers implicated in serious human rights violations are brought to justice.

It also called on the international community to keep Haiti on its agenda and provide financial and personnel support for the full deployment of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which aims to deploy up to 5,500 military and police personnel to confront armed groups.

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