Haiti gangs launch fresh attacks after council names new president
- Armed gangs, led by warlord Barbecue, launched a new wave of violence
- It came after Haiti’s transitional council announced its new PM Fritz Belizaire
- Many were forced to flee with nothing after armed men burned their homes
Chaos in Haiti continued on Thursday as gangs continued to ransack Port-au-Prince.
Armed gangs, led by warlord Barbecue, burned homes and exchanged gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early on Thursday.
The renewed violence came after the country’s transitional council announced its new prime minister, Fritz Belizaire, a former sports minister.
The attacks began late on Wednesday with the intensity focused on the neighborhoods of Solino and Delmas southwest of the main international airport.
‘The gangs started burning everything in sight,’ a man who gave his name as Nene, told PA Media.
The attacks began late on Wednesday with the intensity focused on the neighborhoods of Solino and Delmas south-west of the main international airport
‘I was hiding in a corner all night’ Nene explained.
Nene explained how he escaped with a friend with just one suitcase of his children’s clothes between them.
Nene had rushed his children out of Delmas at dawn during a cessation in the fighting.
Shortly after sunrise the neighborhoods ravaged by the violence of the previous night fell quiet as armored police trucks patrolled the streets, rolling past charred vehicles and cinderblock walls.
Graffiti reading ‘Viv Barbecue’, a reference in Haitian Creole to the gang leader could be seen scrawled on walls.
On Thursday many families and individuals who had lost their homes in the previous nights attacks were seen walking through the streets clutching fans, stoves, mattresses and plastic bags filled with clothes.
Many fled by foot while others found other means of escape on motorcycles and small buses known as tap-taps.
Others were seen walking solemnly on, empty-handed, having lost everything in the fires.
On Thursday many families and individuals who had lost their homes in the previous nights attacks were seen walking through the streets
Many fled by foot while others found other means of escape on motorcycles and small buses known as tap-taps
The streets of Port-au-Prince has been ravaged by violence for months now
Former police officer Jimmy
People flee their neighborhoods after after armed gangs terrorized the Delmas 24 and Solino areas
Many have been able to escape with little more than one bag of clothes after their houses were burned down in the gang violence
‘There were gunshots left and right,’ Paul Pierre, 47, told PA Media.
Pierre was search for shelter with his partner after their house was burned down leaving them no chance to save any of their belongings.
The attack occurred in an area controlled by Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue.
Barbecue controls the powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies.
He and other gang leaders have been blamed for the coordinated attacks that began on February 29 across Port-au-Prince.
More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured from January to March of this year, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in the last month alone.
Flights in and out of the war-torn nation have been grounded for nearly two months amid the relentless unrest.
Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
The attacks eventually forced prime minister Ariel Henry to resign and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council whose majority unexpectedly announced the new prime minister on Tuesday.
The announcement is threatening to fracture the nine-member council, which was sworn in just last week.
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