Haiti plunged into deepening violence as drone fatalities, gang activity increase

Escalating gang violence and a 120% increase in drone attacks have driven Haiti deeper into what aid officials describe as a rapidly deteriorating situation, placing the country among the top five on the International Rescue Committeeʼs 2026 emergency watch list.

“Haiti is in the grip of an overwhelming humanitarian crisis,” Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for crisis response, recovery, and development at the International Rescue Committee, told “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15.

According to Donnelly, more than 1,200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in drone attacks in Haiti this year, including 17 children.

“This is one of the most concerning aspects of the humanitarian situation in Haiti and of the trends that weʼve seen over recent months,” he said.

Donnelly described the drones as “small, cheap, easier-to-operate quadcopter-type drones which are fitted with explosives and then used essentially as improvised explosive devices, some of which have exploded in public areas with children around or people who are out shopping, leading to a number of fatalities.”

“The situation is particularly acute in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which is in the grip of gang-fueled violence, with gangs controlling about 90% of the total territory of the capital city,” he said.

In addition, Donnelly said Haitians face limited access to healthcare, and about half of the country’s population of around 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

“Our team on the ground, working very closely with Haitian civil society organizations, is focused on providing healthcare support, supporting primary healthcare, and, in particular, services for women and children and water and sanitation,” he said. “The risk of communicable diseases, given the displacement and the underfunding of public services in Haiti, is quite significant, as well as protection services for women and children who are particularly at risk of violence given the given the situation on the ground.”

Donnelly’s remarks come as Haiti has climbed from ninth place in 2023 to fifth place in 2026 on the International Rescue Committee’s annual emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. No. 1 on the list is Sudan.