Number of children recruited by gangs in Haiti soars by 70%, UNICEF says
The number of children recruited by gangs in Haiti by 70% in the past year, according to a report released by UNICEF.
Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children at unprecedented levels, with the number of minors targeted soaring by 70% in the past year, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF.
Currently, between 30% to 50% of all gang members in the violence-wracked country are children, according to the U.N.
“This is a very concerning trend,” said Geeta Narayan, UNICEF’s representative in Haiti.
The increase comes as poverty deepens and violence increases amid political instability, with gangs that control 85% of Port-au-Prince attacking once peaceful communities in a push to assume total control of the capital.
Young boys are often used as informers “because they’re invisible and not seen as a threat,” Narayan said in a phone interview from Haiti. Some are given weapons and forced to participate in attacks.
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