Human shields? Haitian gangs recruiting poor and desperate children

Last updated on October 15th, 2024 at 04:39 pm

Haiti has fallen into deep chaos and desperation ever since the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moise, in 2021. 5.4 million people across the Caribbean nation are going hungry and 2.7 million are under the dominion of violent armed gangs.

It has been reported that Haitian armed groups are recruiting scores of starving children as they expect long and bloody battle against international security forces, according to a report. The gangs are offering food and shelter to the young ones in exchange for joining them.

The report’s author, Nathalye Cotrino, told the Guardian that: “Eventually, they plan to use children as ‘human shields’ if operations against criminal groups begin in their controlled areas.” This is nothing less than an extreme case of a humanitarian crisis.

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Kenya deployed the first contingent of a UN-backed security force intended to restore normalcy to Haiti. But the process seems to have stalled due to a lack of funding. In anticipation of the long battle, armed gangs are bolstering their forces.

In a recent major incident, a gang massacred 70 people, including multiple children, in Pont-Sondé as its members executed civilians and set houses on fire, as per reports. Six thousand people have been compelled to flee the place.Gang leaders have been uploading videos on social media that portray them living luxurious lives, Cotrino said. “This attracts the attention of children living in poverty,” he added. Girls are often forced to cook and offers their bodies to gang leaders, the Guardian reported.