According to a U.N. official, nearly 200,000 individuals were forcibly returned to Haiti in the first eight months of 2023, representing an increase of at least 20,000 compared to the same period in the previous year, as reported to an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council [1]. This surge in deportations coincides with a brutal gang attack near the capital, Port-au-Prince, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 50 people, including children, days after Haiti received its first U.S. deportation flight since the termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitians [2-4].

Haitian security analysts have warned that the influx of illegal firearms, primarily originating from the southeastern United States and trafficked through the land border with the Dominican Republic, is exacerbating the ongoing conflict that has claimed over 21,000 lives since 2022 [5]. Carlos Ruiz, head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), emphasized that without improved security, efforts to prepare for the country’s first elections in a decade remain “severely constrained and vulnerable to setbacks” [6]. The U.N.-backed multinational force, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which aims to reach a capacity of 5,500 troops by fall 2023, is seen as crucial for combating gang influence that has expanded significantly over the past five years. The Security Council is set to vote on renewing the GSF’s mandate in September, with the U.S. representative urging the Council to do so, arguing that the force’s mission is essential in light of recent attacks [7-9].

[1] Nearly 200,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti in the first eight months of this year, a U.N. official told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Friday, days after a brutal gang attack killed nearly 50 people near the capital.
[2] Sunday night’s attack took place days after Haiti received its first U.S. deportation flight since the Trump administration won a legal battle ending Temporary Protected Status for around 350,000 Haitians. On Thursday, another flight arrived with migrants from the U.S. and the Bahamas.
[3] Ruiz said three boys and two girls were among the 47 people killed in the hillside community of Kenscoff near the capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday, where houses were set on fire and people who sought to escape were attacked inside a church.
[4] “This latest heartbreaking episode is a stark reminder of the urgent need to further strengthen international security support for Haiti,” Ruiz said.
[5] The U.N. estimates most guns in Haiti originate from the southeastern United States, though many are trafficked into the country through the land border with the Dominican Republic.
[6] Ruiz warned that without improved security, efforts to advance preparations for the country’s first elections in a decade remain “severely constrained and vulnerable to setbacks.”
[7] Haitian authorities first requested foreign military assistance in 2022, but this was slow to materialize, and a year ago the U.N. mandated a different, larger and more aggressive force to deploy, called the Gang Suppression Force (GSF).
[8] The GSF aims to reach a capacity of 5,500 troops by fall this year. The Security Council will vote on whether to renew its mandate at the end of September.
[9] “This attack is precisely why the U.N. authorized Gang Suppression Force’s mission and mandate matters,” she said.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/nearly-200000-people-forcibly-192824879.html

This is a summary. Read the original at yahoo.com.