At least 1,167 people were killed and 459 injured in Haiti between July and September 2026, according to a United Nations report released on November 11. Behind those figures is a population facing gang violence, kidnapping, sexual assault, and abuses by the forces supposed to restore security.

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti, BINUH, documented 344 victims of sexual violence perpetrated by gangs. Children accounted for one in ten kidnapping victims. Police officers were implicated in 44 cases of extrajudicial executions or attempted executions, up from 14 in the previous quarter.

Terror as a means of control

Gangs killed residents who resisted extortion, allegedly broke their rules, or denounced attempts to interfere in elections. In some neighborhoods, armed groups returned after security operations had driven them out.

Two attacks in Kenscoff killed at least 105 residents, including 19 children. More than 36 victims were shot dead in a Protestant church courtyard. In Cité Soleil, gang members beheaded at least 19 people, including 12 elderly women.

These attacks show how ordinary life becomes impossible when armed groups can punish people for refusing demands, speaking out, or simply living in contested territory. Leaving a neighborhood may offer no reliable protection when violence is spreading into previously less-affected areas.

Security forces also face scrutiny

The death toll cannot accurately be presented as 1,167 people murdered by gangs. More than half of the combined deaths and injuries occurred during security operations. BINUH reported that more than 16 percent of those casualties were people not associated with gangs.

That distinction matters. Fighting armed groups does not remove the obligation to protect civilians or investigate unlawful killings. A government cannot build public trust while allowing its own forces to act with impunity.

Protection must mean more than firepower

The UN is calling for stronger protection, assistance for survivors, accountability, and measures to prevent children’s recruitment into gangs. It also wants international efforts to curb the illicit flow of weapons into Haiti.

Haitians deserve institutions capable of protecting them without becoming another source of fear. Success must be measured by whether people can travel, work, speak freely, and return home alive—not merely by how many armed men are killed.