Criminal violence in Haiti worsened this week, with fighting among gangs in part of the capital chasing thousands from their homes and killing at least 20 people, including children.
The Haitian Civil Protection Agency on Wednesday said that fighting began on Sunday in four neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, north of the international airport.
At least a dozen homes were burned down and many of those who fled initially took shelter in the yard of a local mayor’s office.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The eruption came amid a spike in violence and kidnappings as gangs grow more powerful and seek to control more territory amid the power vacuum following the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise on July 7 last year.
The situation has angered and frustrated Haitians, who are demanding action from Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s administration, which is receiving international help to boost an underfunded and understaffed police force.
A family of eight, including six children, was among those killed since Sunday, authorities said.
Schools and businesses in the area remain closed as thousands of families with children are camping in a park near a local mayor’s office.
“They need water, food, supplies,” said Jean Raymond Dorcely, who runs a small community organization. “They had to leave with nothing in their hands.”
He said that the neighborhood is usually quiet and that his child often plays in the park now turned into a makeshift outdoor shelter.
“I can see kids crying because they’re hungry and families don’t have anything to provide to them,” he said, adding that needs were growing as the fighting continued. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like tomorrow.”
Authorities said that along with the dead, two dozen people had been injured in the violence, and that one bullet hit an empty UN Humanitarian Air Service helicopter stationed near the airport.
“The conflict is likely to escalate in the coming days, leading to further casualties and new population migrations,” the Civil Protection Agency said.
Officials warned that main roads leading to Haiti’s northern region could be cut off as a result of the fighting.
The Civil Protection Agency blamed this week’s violence on a fight between the Chen Mechan gang and the rival 400 Mawozo gang, which was involved in the kidnapping of 17 US missionaries last year.
Haiti’s ombudsman-like Citizen Protection Office released a statement condemning the violence.
It criticized political leaders, saying their inaction and silence has brought “a form of cynicism or contempt for human rights, particular the right to life and security.”
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