Haiti human rights group warns kidnappings and killings are on the rise after brief respite

As the U.N. Security Council prepared for a meeting on Friday to address the worsening violence in Haiti, a human rights group in the country sounded the alarm about a surge of violence.

It noted that from May 1 to July 12, at least 75 people were killed and another 40 abducted. Among those killed are an attorney, a schoolboy, two morticians and at least six police officers. Those kidnapped include a female journalist from Radio Vision 2000 who was later released. Her husband, the former president of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council, is still being held by gang members since his abduction in mid-June.

Gangs also are accused of breaking into a hospital in the community of Canaan in northern Port-au-Prince, stealing medical supplies and abducting at least six security guards. In addition, armed criminals last month set fire to the building that housed the Jamaican consulate in Haiti.