UNITED NATIONS, United States, May 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - More than 1,600 people were killed in Haiti gang violence -- most of them gang members -- in the first three months of the year, the United Nations said Wednesday, as criminal groups fight to expand their territories.

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti faces severe political instability, and swaths of the country are under the control of rival armed gangs who carry out murders, rapes and kidnappings.

The armed groups have been battling for control of the capital Port-au-Prince, and clashes have intensified in recent months.

"1,617 people were killed and 580 injured due to violence involving gangs, self-defence groups, nonorganized members of the population, as well as during security force operations," the UN said in a report.

"Between January and March 2025, despite numerous casualties within their ranks (936 individuals), gangs intensified their efforts to expand their territorial control in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and its surroundings."

A Kenyan-led force authorized by the United Nations has failed to push back the gangs. The mission has around 1,000 police officers from six countries but was intended to have 2,500.

Haiti is approaching a "point of no return" leading to "total chaos," the UN special representative to the troubled Caribbean nation warned Monday.