The 1,223 murders reported in the third quarter were largely attributed to gang violence, although law enforcement officials committed at least 106 extrajudicial killings, with victims including six children as young as 10 who were accused of transmitting information to gang members, BINUH said. .

Of the 106 extrajudicial killings, 96 were committed by police officers and another 10 by Jean Ernest Muscadin, the prosecutor of Miragoâne, on the south coast. Overall, Muscadin is accused of killing at least 36 people since 2022 who were suspected of being gang members or committing “common crimes,” BINUH said.

A spokesman for the Haitian National Police did not respond to requests for comment, while Muscadin declined to comment and hung up when reached by phone.

The gangs now have around 5,500 members after mainly recruiting children who work as scouts, carry weapons and ammunition and even take part in fighting, according to a UN Security Council report released on Monday. He noted that children may represent up to 50 percent of all gang members.

“The dire situation in Haiti makes children more vulnerable to gang recruitment,” the report said. “The lack of access to education, employment and basic needs creates a situation where joining gangs is seen as the only viable means of survival.”

Among those killed this quarter are at least 669 people during police operations against gangs, with three-quarters of the victims being suspected gang members and a quarter of them civilians, the BINUH report said.

“Information gathered… indicates a possible disproportionate use of lethal force and a lack of precautions to protect the population during police operations,” BINUH said.

The number of people killed or injured from July to September rose 27 percent compared to the second quarter, although there was a 32 percent decrease compared to the first quarter.

Most of the killings and injuries — 234 — occurred in Port-au-Prince’s La Saline slum, mostly in residents’ makeshift homes, as gangs battle for control of Haiti’s main port and its container terminal, according to the report.

Gangs also recently occupied the communities of Carrefour and Gressier in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, using “extreme brutality to bring residents under their control,” BINUH said.

At least 122 killings were blamed on self-defense groups that formed last year and targeted suspected gang members or people accused of crimes, including stealing livestock or cellphones.

“Victims were mutilated with machetes, stoned, beheaded, burned alive or buried alive,” the report said. “The children were not spared.”

In all, at least 59 babies were killed or injured in the third trimester.

The UN noted that the number of self-defense groups doubled to about 60 from January to July.

Most of the violence remains concentrated in the capital Port-au-Prince and the central region of Artibonite, where dozens were killed in a massacre earlier this month.

In a bright spot, the number of kidnappings fell to 170 during the third quarter compared to earlier this year, with more than 60 percent of the cases occurring in Artibonite, according to the report.

In the second quarter, at least 428 people were kidnapped.

Sexual violence remains pervasive, with at least 55 victims reporting gang rapes, including girls and women between the ages of 10 and 70, according to the report, which noted that such cases are largely underreported.

Women and girls are attacked in their homes or while walking on the streets or using public transport, with some being sexually exploited for months by gang members, BINUH said.

Gang violence has left more than 700,000 people homeless in recent years and has increased this month as gunmen try to take over Solino, one of the last communities in Port-au-Prince not under their control.

“It’s a complete destruction of people’s lives,” said Jean Renel Volma, an unemployed 55-year-old who recently fled Solino with his wife and two children after living there for more than two decades.

“It was dark, there were tremendous shots, everyone was screaming. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen in Solino,” he said, recalling that they were only able to escape with the clothes they had.

Originally from the southern coastal town of Les Cayes, Volma said he cannot take refuge there because gangs control the main roads out of Port-au-Prince: “I don’t know what I’m going to do. There is no way out.”

Volma is one of hundreds of people who flocked to a church near Nazon after it was left homeless as gunfire rang out nearby on Wednesday. The UN report noted that gangs target Solino and Delmas 24 to gain access to middle-class neighborhoods, including Nazon.

“The aim is to bring more revenue from kidnapping and extortion business from this rich area,” the statement said.

Among those living temporarily at the church is Alicia Joseph, a 60-year-old mother of three. While her children live with a friend who took them, there was no more room for her.

“I think it’s the end of my life. I lost everything,” she said.

Her losses include her 85-year-old mother, who was unable to flee with the rest of the family when the gang attacked.

“I thought they would spare her life,” Joseph said, adding that her mother died in their home when the gangs set it on fire.