Haiti on verge of collapse, NGOs warn as UN talks on restoring order continue

A woman cooks at the Hugo Chávez Square where she shelters from gang war violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 16 October. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

NGOs operating in Haiti warn that the chaos engulfing the country has become so total and the social fabric so torn that the country is on the verge of collapse, as discussions continue at the UN security council on how to restore order.

Haitians are currently facing a series of overlapping crises that are becoming deadlier by the day as heavily armed gangs continue to blockade the country’s principal port and fuel terminal.