UN warns of more Haitian children in crossfire as gang recruitment grows

Children play in a refugee camp set up at a school for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

(Reuters) -Haitian gangs' growing recruitment of children means it is inevitable minors will be caught in the crossfire, a U.N. official said on Tuesday, vowing to train armed personnel who deploy to fight those gangs as part of a newly mandated force.

There has been an increase in gang recruitment of minors this year, with children as young as 10 joining, and they likely represent up to half of all gang members, Roberto Benes, UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, told a press briefing.