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STORY: Haiti is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

Food, fuel and water shortages are causing catastrophic hunger and the government is asking other countries for military help.

"...if there was ever a moment to come to the aid of Haitians in dire need, it is now..."

But what's causing the crisis?

It started with armed gangs blockading a key fuel terminal.

The blockade began in September and has led to gas and diesel shortages... grinding most transport to a halt.

That meant shortages of basic goods, including clean water.

The UN says more than 4 million Haitians are facing acute food insecurity.

Hospitals have either had to shut their doors or scale back operations because they can't power the diesel generators they rely on.

“Armed gangs, blockading roads and restricting the transport of fuel throughout the country, as a result, medical services unable to reach those people most in need, including those affected by the outbreaks of cholera which have acerbated the misery of Haitian people"

Civil unrest is also on the rise.

The UN says gangs are using sexual violence to instil fear in the local population.

The blockade is being led by a coalition of gangs called G9.

It controls areas in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The group's leader, Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, is a former police officer who has been the target of U.S. sanctions.

They dug trenches around fuel terminal when the government said it was cutting fuel subsidies - saying higher fuel costs will hurt Haitians.

Haitian gangs have expanded their control since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

The killing created a political power vacuum.

But the country was already in crisis before that, as it failed to hold elections set for 2019.

There's no functioning parliament.

Lawmakers' terms have expired.

But few believe an election could go ahead right now anyway.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed a "rapid action force" to confront the gangs and reopen the terminal.

There have been pitches for security missions and assistance from countries like the U.S., Mexico and Canada...

But most countries appear wary of offering up boots on the ground.