Gangs in Haiti have stepped up violence and expanded operations outside the capital despite the deployment of a multinational force to bolster the struggling Caribbean nation's police, the top United Nations official in the country warned on Tuesday.

"The situation in Haiti has regrettably worsened," Maria Isabel Salvador, the UN secretary-general's special representative to Haiti, told the UN Security Council.

Salvador said that more than 700,000 people are now displaced in the conflict-stricken country — which is a 22% rise over the last three months.

She added that people across Haiti continue to suffer as gangs ramp up and expand their activities, "spreading terror and fear, overwhelming the national security apparatus" and exacerbating an "extremely dire" humanitarian situation.

Cargo ships forced to halt Haiti services

The official's remarks come just weeks after a gang attack in the town of Port Sonde left 114 civilians dead and dozens injured.

In her update, Salvador also mentioned a series of other attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and sexual violence of "unheard-of brutality" against women and girls.

She said the violence has spread to sea, with gangs attacking small boats carrying Haitians from Port-au-Prince to other parts of the island, and kidnapping personnel from international cargo freight firms, forcing them to halt services to Haiti.

Last year, the UN Security Council ratified the deployment of an international security force to assist police in restoring order.

However, only a fraction of over 3,000 troops pledged by a handful of countries have arrived so far. Funding has also been slow.

Children facing 'catastrophic situation'

The UN has also voiced worries about children, who comprise half of Haiti's displaced population and who fall prey to gangs.

Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN children's agency, UNICEF, told the council the "catastrophic situation" for Haiti's children that she reported six months ago has aggravated.

She said over 360,000 of the people currently displaced are children.

"Armed groups are regularly committing grave rights violations against children including killing and maiming," she said. "And so far this year, we have seen a staggering increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against women and children, including gender-based violence."

Russel suggested that children are also being drawn into gangs and are being used as "informants, cooks, sex slaves, and forced to commit armed violence themselves."

Haiti's instability since presidential assassination

Salvador stressed that the political process in Haiti is facing "significant challenges."

She warned of increasing friction between the nation's dual executive — headed by the prime minister and presidential council respectively — which is further fraying public trust in the government.

Gangs in Haiti have grown more powerful since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. 

dvv/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters)