Pope Francis prayed for Haiti, where criminal gangs have wreaked havoc in recent days, AFP reported.
"I have followed with concern and pain the serious crisis that has affected Haiti and the episodes of violence that have occurred in recent days," the 87-year-old pope said after Sunday's Angelus prayer.
"I am close to the Church and to the dear Haitian people who have suffered so much for years," he added.
He offered prayers for an end to the violence, urging all countries to work for peace and reconciliation, "with the renewed support of the international community."
Criminal gangs, who already control much of the capital Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, unleashed chaos as they tried to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henri as leader of the West's poorest country hemisphere.
As a result of the unrest, 362,000 Haitians have been internally displaced - more than half of them children, and some have been forced to move multiple times, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. /BGNES
