Haiti now needs up to 5,000 police to help tackle `catastrophic’ gang violence , UN expert says

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Haiti now needs between 4,000 and 5,000 international police to help tackle “catastrophic” gang violence which is targeting key individuals and hospitals, schools, banks and other critical institutions, the U,N, rights expert for the conflict-wracked nation says. Last July, William O’Neill said Haiti needed between 1,000 and 2,000 international police trained to deal with gangs. Today, he said, the situation is so much worse that double that number and more are needed to help the Haitian National Police regain control of security and curb human rights abuses. O’Neill spoke at a news conference Thursday launching a U.N. Human Rights Office report.