Five children a week killed or injured amid Haiti gang warfare

Five children have been killed or injured in Haiti for every week of the first six months of 2024, caught in the crossfire of warring gangs.

- Luke Taylor

At least 131 children have been killed or injured so far this year, according to analysis of UN Data by Save the Children - up 47% on the final six months of 2023 when 89 cases were documented.

Most were hit by stray bullets when armed gangs launched machine gun assaults on their neighbourhood or fought with other armed groups and the police in the streets.

A small but growing number of those children have been targeted out of suspicions they supported a local self-defence group, rival gang or the police. Others were lynched by the public after being accused of committing minor offences, according to Save the Children.

"We are at a loss for words when it comes to the unimaginable suffering children in Haiti are enduring.