The United Nations is calling for “armed action” in Haiti amid worsening violence and instability as gangs continue to control much of the country. A weeklong blockade of a key port in Port-au-Prince by gangs has led to a critical shortage of fuel, food and water for millions of people and has hindered efforts to respond to a new outbreak of cholera in Haiti. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the crisis Monday.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “It’s an absolutely nightmarish situation for the population of Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince. … I believe that we need not only to strengthen the police, strengthening it with training, with equipment, with a number of other measures, but that in the present circumstances we need an armed action to release the port and to allow for a humanitarian corridor to be established.”