UN Secretary General, António Guterres, issued a statement Sunday condemning an attack by armed gangs in Haiti that killed at least 40 people.

Violence has surged in Haiti since President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July 2021 created a power vacuum that gangs exploited, using increasingly sophisticated weapons trafficked from abroad to seize territory from the weakened state. More than 5,600 people were killed in gang violence in 2024 alone, a sharp increase from the previous year, while over 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced in what officials call the largest political displacement in the nation’s history.

A UN-backed police mission was deployed to Haiti in 2024 in a bid to restore order, but due reportedly to resource shortages, has struggled to make an impact.

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