Report: 96K Haitians flee homes amid spike in gang violence

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration says gang violence has forced some 96,000 people to flee their homes in Haiti’s capital as the country faces a crisis that has prompted the government to request foreign troops. The IOM said Friday that gang-related violence has led to “racketeering, kidnappings and wider criminal acts” at a time of deep inequality, poverty and a lack of security. Gangs are believed to control some 60% of Port-au-Prince, raping women, children and men and setting homes on fire as they fight to control more territory in the wake of the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.