Violence raging in Haiti is forcibly displacing one child every minute on average, with about 300,000 children already affected, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.
Displaced children account for more than half of the 600,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes due to violence particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, much of which is controlled by gangs, UNICEF said.
“The number of internally displaced children in Haiti has increased by an estimated 60 percent since March — the equivalent of one child every minute — a result of ongoing violence caused by armed groups,” it said in a report.
Photo: Reuters
Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then-Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry.
“Children in Haiti continue to endure an onslaught of multiple dangers, including horrific violence and critical levels of displacement,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said.
“The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is taking a devastating toll on children. Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, and increased support and funding from the international community,” Russell said.
When children and teenagers are forced to move it puts them at risk of dropping out of school and making them vulnerable to sexual assault, exploitation and abuse, UNICEF said.
Young people also are increasingly joining the armed groups sowing terror in the country, it said.
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