Haiti: Gangs Force Abductees to Join Their Ranks

Gangs operating in Mariani, at the southern entrance to the Haitian capital, kidnap peaceful citizens to force them to join their ranks, another of the strategies now spreading panic.

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Since November 1, armed groups have been trying to control the area leading to the country's main city, despite police interventions to prevent it.

The violence caused hundreds of families to flee the city, while at least two officers and several residents were killed.

Police also killed several members and forced others to retreat during their operations.

It is in this context that the gang began kidnapping citizens to use them for criminal purposes, most of them motorcycle cab drivers operating in the area, according to several local press outlets.

The armed groups currently control more than 80 percent of the capital and extend their influence to departments such as Artibonite, where more than 1,600 people were killed, kidnapped or injured from July to October, according to a report by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.

For its part, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights lamented that from January to October, gang violence left 3,960 dead, 1,432 injured and 2,951 victims of kidnappings throughout the country.