UN: Haiti police need immediate help amid surge in violence

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A U.N. special envoy is warning that Haiti’s police force needs immediate help to fight crime and violence, noting that gangs have grown so powerful they recently seized control of a local courthouse. Helen La Lime, the top U.N. official in Haiti, said Thursday that insecurity is rapidly deteriorating in the country of more than 11 million people, with an average of almost seven kidnappings reported every day. In May alone, she said more than 200 killings and 198 abductions were reported. Those kidnappings included two busloads of children and three U.N. personnel and their dependents, with one local staff member killed in a crossfire between gangs.