More than 600 people were killed last month in a new wave of extreme violence in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, according to the United Nations.

The world body also declared that Haiti had been in the grip of political and economic crises.

According to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “In the month of April alone, more than 600 people were killed in a new wave of extreme violence that hit several districts across the capital.

“This follows the killing of at least 846 people in the first three months of 2023, in addition to 393 injured and 395 kidnapped during that period – a 28 percent increase in violence on the previous quarter.”

The Caribbean nation, the poorest in the Americas, has been gripped by a political and economic crisis since the July 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise, with gangs now controlling most of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

UN officials have for months asked the Security Council to send a specialised non-UN international armed force to help police restore order.