In Port-au-Prince you cannot see the boundaries, but you must know where they are. Your life may depend on it. Competing gangs are carving up the Haitian capital, kidnapping, raping, and killing at will. They demarcate their territory in blood. Cross from one gang's turf to another, and you may not make it back.

Those who live here carry a mental map, dividing this teeming city into green, yellow, and red zones. Green means gang free, yellow can be safe today and deadly tomorrow, and red is a no-go area. The green area is shrinking as heavily armed gangs tighten their grip.

Armed groups control - and terrorise - at least 60% of the capital and its surroundings, according to Haitian human rights groups. They encircle the city, controlling roads in and out. And the UN says the gangs killed almost 1,000 people here between January and June of this year.

Kidnapping is a growth industry. There were 1,107 reported cases between January and October of this year, according to the UN. For some gangs it's a major income stream. Ransoms can run from $200 (£164) to $1m (£819,740). Most victims come back alive - if the ransom is paid - but they are made to suffer.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed a "rapid action force" to confront the gangs, and the United States and Mexico proposed a security mission that would be led by an unnamed "partner country".

But most countries remain sceptical of a role in any military intervention in Haiti, noting that previous efforts such as a 2004-2017 U.N.-backed peacekeeping force did not yield sustained improvements in security.

Canada and the United States have instead imposed sanctions on Haitian politicians and business leaders accused of financing the gangs for economic and political benefit.

More:  BBC, Reuters

Pray:    For God’s light to shine in the darkest corners of Haiti, for His love to overwhelm the ever-growing evil of gang warfare (John 1:4-5.)

                For the safety of Haitians from kidnapping, murder, and the impact of gang warfare.

For the work of the United Nations and other international organisations working to confront violence. (Psalm 107:20)