This was reported by Reuters.

Human Rights Watch said that more than 1,200 people were killed in drone strikes during anti-crime operations in Haiti.

According to the report, between March last year and 21 January this year, drone strikes killed 1,243 people.

Among the victims were 43 adult civilians and 17 children. In addition, 738 people were injured, including 49 civilians.

According to human rights activists, security forces are using quadcopters equipped with explosives during operations against gangs in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince. Such strikes often take place in densely populated areas of the city.

Human Rights Watch noted that the operations are being carried out with the support of the private military company Vectus Global. This is an American organisation headed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

Representatives of the Haitian Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Defence, the National Police, Vectus and the US State Department did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

At the same time, the US chargé d'affaires in Haiti told a US Senate committee that the State Department had issued a licence to Vectus to provide services in the country.

A representative of the UN-backed international mission to suppress gangs also declined to comment on the situation.

Data from human rights activists

Human Rights Watch Americas Director Juanita Geberthas said the organisation had documented cases of unlawful use of lethal force.

According to her, Haiti's international partners should stop cooperating with the country's security forces until mechanisms to protect the civilian population are put in place.

"The Haitian authorities must immediately take control of the security forces and private contractors working with them before more children are killed," she said.

Child deaths and fear among the population

Human Rights Watch reports that more than half of the children were killed during an attack in September last year.

At that time, a drone struck a sports centre where a local group was distributing gifts.

The victims were children aged between three and twelve.

Port-au-Prince residents also told human rights activists that they are afraid to leave their homes because of the use of drones.

Drones can manoeuvre between buildings and vehicles, and operators control them using real-time video cameras.

UN position

The UN Mission in Haiti (BINUH) has also recorded dozens of cases of civilian deaths and injuries from drone strikes.

Among such cases is the death of a woman with three children who was selling goods on the street.

Another incident occurred when a woman was killed in her own home, where two militants hiding there were also killed by a drone strike.

Last month, UN mission representatives said they had no information about investigations into these deaths.

In October last year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that drone strikes in Haiti could be disproportionate and possibly illegal.

The security situation in Haiti

Despite support from the US, Kenya and the UN, gangs continue to expand their control beyond the country's capital.

Armed groups have already killed thousands of people, forced more than a million residents to flee their homes and seriously undermined Haiti's economy.

At the same time, law enforcement agencies have not yet managed to arrest any key gang leaders.