UN urges deployment of international ‘specialized support force’ to Haiti

Extreme violence in Caribbean state has claimed 530 lives so far this year, particularly in gang-dominated capital

The United Nations has called for the deployment of an international “specialized support force” to impede Haiti’s accelerating tumble into extreme violence after more than 530 people were killed in the opening weeks of this year.

“Clashes between gangs are becoming more violent and more frequent,” the spokesperson for the UN human rights office, Marta Hurtado, warned on Tuesday, voicing “grave concern” that the security situation was spiraling out of control.