Residents return to church, gangs offer aid

LES CAYES, HAITI >> A Haitian gang leader on Sunday offered a truce and help for communities shattered by a devastating earthquake — potentially offering a break for a relief effort that has been plagued by hijacked aid trucks and disorder.

The offer came as many Haitians resumed services in or outside damaged churches, sometimes for the first time since the magnitude 7.2 quake of Aug. 14. The country’s Civil Protection Agency also raised toll of dead to 2,207.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much impact the truce offer might have: While powerful, Jimmy Cherizier, alias “Barbecue,” is far from the only gang leader in Haiti and widely repeated social media reports of an earlier gang truce failed to prevent attacks on the relief effort.

Gangs have blocked roads, hijacked aid trucks and stolen supplies, forcing relief workers to transport supplies by helicopter. In places, desperate crowds have scuffled over bags of food.