UN warns of spike in killings and kidnappings across Haiti as deployment of armed force stalls

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.N. says more than 2,300 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti from October to December last year, a nearly 10% increase compared with the previous quarter. A new report released Thursday found that the number of killings alone spiked to more than 1,600. Officials blamed the vacuum created by the death of a powerful gang leader for unleashing territorial fights in the Cite Soleil slum of Port-au-Prince that killed and injured nearly 270 people over roughly two weeks in late November. The U.N. recommended that the international community accelerate the deployment of a foreign armed force, but it’s unlikely one would arrive soon in Haiti.