(Reuters) – Explosive drone strikes by Haitian security forces targeting gangs have killed over 1,200 people, including 43 adult civilians and 17 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday, adding that operations have ramped up in recent months.
Since last March, Haitian security forces, with support from Vectus Global, have carried out anti-gang operations using quadcopter drones strapped with explosives, often in densely populated parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Vectus Global is a private US-based military company led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince.
Haiti's prime minister's office, defense minister, national police, Vectus, and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The US charge d'affaires in Haiti told a Senate committee last month that the State Department had licensed Vectus to export its services to Haiti.
A spokesperson for the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force in Haiti declined to comment.
HRW's Americas director, Juanita Goebertus, told Reuters that the rights group had documented unlawful use of lethal force, saying Haiti's partners should stop collaborating with its security forces until they implement safeguards 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 Kenyan, US and UN support, armed gangs have expanded well beyond the capital and security forces have yet to capture a major gang leader. The gangs have killed thousands, displaced over a million and crippled the economy.
Drawing from interviews with doctors, victims' relatives, community leaders and videos of the strikes, HRW found drone strikes killed 1,243 people between last March and January 21 of this year.
The strikes also injured 738 people, including 49 alleged civilians, it added, noting that from November to January there were nearly double the number of drone operations compared with the prior three months.
Some local residents told HRW they were afraid to leave their homes due to the drones, which can manoeuvre between buildings and moving vehicles while their controllers track suspects using live video feeds.
Of the child victims, more than half were 3-to-12-year-olds killed last September in an attack on a sports center where a local gang was distributing gifts, HRW said.
The UN office in Haiti (BINUH) has also recorded dozens of civilian deaths and injuries from drones, including a mother of three killed while selling goods on the street, and another case of a woman who was killed in her own home where two gang members took refuge from a drone.
Last month, BINUH said it had no indications the deaths and injuries were being investigated.
HRW said there was no evidence drones were being used widely by gangs.
The UN's human rights chief said last October the drone strikes were disproportionate and likely unlawful.