Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
20 people die as Haiti gang violence intensifies
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Criminal violence in Haiti worsened this week as fighting among gangs in part of the capital chased thousands from their homes and killed at least 20 people, including children.
Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said the fighting began 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.
The spike in violence and kidnappings comes as gangs grow more powerful and seek to control more territory amid the power vacuum following last year’s July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Haitians are demanding action from Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s administration, which is receiving international help to boost an underfunded and understaffed police force.
Eight family members, including six children, were among those killed since Sunday, authorities said Wednesday. 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.
Authorities said that along with the dead, two dozen people had been injured in the violence, and that one bullet hit an empty United Nations 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.
Gang violence in the Martissant community in southern Port-au-Prince already has cut off access to the country’s southern region, which is trying to recover from last year’s deadly earthquake.
The Martissant violence displaced thousands of families last year that have spent months in overcrowded, unhygienic government shelters in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. It wasn’t immediately clear where the newly displaced families would be staying.
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 U.S. 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.”
The office also questioned whether the area known as Plaine du Cul de Sac was becoming another Martissant and called on authorities to assume their responsibility to protect citizens.