More than 53,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in Haiti over the last three weeks, according to a new United Nations report.
According to the report, most of them are trying to escape gang violence that has paralyzed the country, where gangs have seized control of the airport and police stations and released thousands of prisoners.
More than 60% of the thousands that have newly fled are expected to go to southern regions of the country, where more than 100,000 people have already arrived after fleeing the capital.
U.N. officials worry the region doesn't have the resources or infrastructure to provide for that many people.
The U.N. says there have been over 1,500 deaths and some 17,000 people rendered homeless in Haiti since the outbreak of violence.
Haiti's deep humanitarian, security crisis: US takes urgent action
The country has faced a growing political crisis compounded by gang violence that was only inflamed after the assassination of its president in 2021.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said in March he would resign once a group of stakeholders were able to appoint a temporary successor. U.S. and Caribbean nation officials planned to establish this transitional group, but a timeline for the effort has still not been given.
Many of the gangs have connections to political and economic interests in the country. Jimmy Chérizier, the leader of one of the major gang coalitions in the capital, has said the groups will reject international solutions.
“It’s the Haitian people who know what they’re going through," Chérizier said. "It’s the Haitian people who are going to take destiny into their own hands. Haitian people will choose who will govern them.”
In the meantime, the exodus from Port-au-Prince is expected to continue.
