Haiti

Assessment

Gangs control roughly 80 to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince and keep pushing into Artibonite, Centre and the Kenscoff hills, where an attack in late August killed at least 47, abducted more than 50, burned 25 homes and displaced more than 2,600 people. The UN-authorised Gang Suppression Force remains far below its 5,550 ceiling, is expected to reach full operational capacity only between October and the end of 2026, and asked the Security Council in July for an extension of its mandate through September 2028; the Council votes on re-authorisation on Sept 30, which Haiti's foreign minister formally requested on Sept 4. Voter registration for the Dec 13 elections is badly behind: the electoral council reported 506,953 registrations as of Sept 6, about 13 percent of its four-million target, with the process due to close on Oct 13.