Over 1,400 killed in Haiti violence this year: UN

GENEVA, Dec 09 (AFP): More than 1,400 people have been killed and over 1,000 kidnapped in Haiti this year by gangs who also use sexual violence, the UN said Friday.

Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for a show of "political courage and responsibility at a national and international level" to address the "endemic impunity".

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, is facing an acute political, economic, security and health crisis which has paralysed the country and sparked a breakdown of law and order.

The assassination of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021 exacerbated the crises, as gangs grew in strength and territorial control.

This "multifaceted and protracted crisis... cannot be ignored," Turk told a press conference in Geneva.