Explosive drone operations carried out by security forces in Haiti against armed gangs have resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, including civilians and children, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch.
The rights group said the number of attacks has increased in recent months, APA reports, citing Reuters.
Since March last year, Haitian security agencies have conducted anti-gang missions using quadcopter drones equipped with explosives.
The operations, which often occur in densely populated areas of the capital Port-au-Prince, have been carried out with support from Vectus Global, a private U.S.-based military firm led by Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater.
Authorities in Haiti and the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The offices of the Haitian prime minister, the defence minister, the national police, Vectus Global and the United States Department of State all declined to comment.
However, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Haiti told a Senate committee last month that the State Department had authorised Vectus to export its services to the Caribbean nation.
A spokesperson for the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force in Haiti also declined to comment on the allegations.
According to HRW, the organisation has documented what it describes as unlawful use of deadly force in the anti-gang operations. The group’s Americas director, Juanita Goebertus, told Reuters that Haiti’s international partners should suspend cooperation with its security forces until safeguards are introduced to protect civilians.
“Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die,” she said.
Despite assistance from Kenya, the United States and the United Nations, heavily armed gangs have expanded their influence far beyond the capital. Security forces have also been unable to capture any major gang leader.
The gangs are blamed for killing thousands of people, forcing more than a million residents from their homes and severely damaging the country’s economy.
Human Rights Watch said its findings were based on interviews with doctors, relatives of victims, community leaders and video footage of the strikes. The organisation said the drone attacks killed 1,243 people between March last year and January 21 this year.
The report also documented 738 people injured during the same period, including 49 alleged civilians. It noted that between November and January the number of drone operations almost doubled compared with the preceding three months.
Some residents interviewed by HRW said the presence of drones had created widespread fear, preventing many people from leaving their homes. The drones are capable of maneuvering between buildings and moving vehicles while operators track targets using live video feeds.
Among the children killed, more than half were aged between three and 12 years old. HRW said they died last September when a drone strike hit a sports centre where a local gang was distributing gifts.
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) has also documented several civilian deaths and injuries linked to drone strikes. In one case, a mother of three was reportedly killed while selling goods on the street, while another woman died inside her home after two gang members sought refuge there from a drone.
Last month, BINUH said there were no indications that investigations had been launched into the reported deaths and injuries.
Human Rights Watch added that it had found no evidence that gangs were widely using drones.
The United Nations human rights chief said in October that the drone strikes appeared disproportionate and were likely unlawful.
