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Some 69% of nearly 1,330 people across Haiti said they supported
an "international force" - which has been requested by the
Haitian government - according to a survey from local business
risk management group Agerca and consulting firm DDG.
Nearly 80%, however, said they believed Haiti's PNH national
police needed international support to resolve the problem of
armed gangs, most saying it should be deployed immediately.
In October, the United Nations suggested a "rapid action force"
be sent to Haiti to combat escalating violence from armed gangs
whose turf battles have left hundreds dead and thousands
displaced.
But many have expressed skepticism, citing abuses from past
missions and questioning a force backing the administration of
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, which has been without
democratically elected representatives since early January.
Most countries have been wary of sending troops, though nearby
Jamaica on Tuesday said it would be willing to participate and
El Salvador has offered "technical assistance".
U.N. envoy to Haiti Helen La Lime last week said she had heard
caution from the United States and Canada, but "not a definite
no."
"Nobody wants to repeat the mistakes of the past," she said,
adding the force would work in partnership with the PNH.
More than a third of those surveyed said since 2021 they knew
someone in their neighborhood, family, or workplace who had been
killed. Over 70% said their movements in the capital had been
limited by gang presence and 83% said they lost income.
Some 36% said they or someone they knew had since 2021 been
victim of a kidnapping, while 28% said this was the case for
physical assault, and 9% for sexual assault. A quarter said they
had stopped social activities and a fifth said they had left
their homes.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland)
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