By PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA and EVENS SANON Associated Press April 29, 2022, 00:41 • 4 minutes reading Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email this article PORTO-O-PRINCE, Haiti – Heavy gunfire erupted Thursday in a once-quiet neighborhood of the Haitian capital that has been reduced to zero in a gang battle that has killed at least 20 people, injured more than a dozen and forced thousands to flee. their homes this week. The parents grabbed the children by the arms as they balanced the bags on their heads with the few belongings they could save after gang members drove them out of their homes. Fighting erupts in four neighborhoods on the north side of Port-au-Prince as a new culmination of escalating criminal violence as more and more powerful gangs try to control more territory during the political power vacuum left by the president’s assassination. Jovenel on July 7 in Moïse. “I left everything behind,” said Carlin Brutus, 35, who left with her three children from one of the neighborhoods, Booth Boyer, a long, quiet neighborhood where she has lived for more than 25 years. She had to leave her 96-year-old paralyzed father because she could not carry him. “I do not know how he is doing, if he is still alive,” he said. Brutus said she continues to pray for him as she struggles to find shelter for her family. They have gathered under the front step of a store with an awning that protects them from the rain, but she is looking for a more permanent shelter. “It seems that this country has no principles. Nobody came here to see us. “We do not know how long we will be here or how long it will last,” he said, reiterating the frustration of Haitians with the increase in violence. About 100 police officers carrying automatic weapons spread out in the neighborhood, checking people and their belongings, but a barrage of gunfire could be heard nearby. The government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry has struggled to improve security, although it is receiving help from the international community to strengthen its under-staffed and underfunded police force. Defenders Plus, a local human rights group, accused political leaders of being careless, incapable and incapable of “ensuring one of the basic functions of any state: the security of its territory.” He also demanded that the authorities “assume their responsibilities in order to guarantee the right of the population to life and security”. Government officials did not respond to calls for comment. Authorities say the battle between a gang known as Chen Mechan (Bad Dog in Creole Haitian) and the 400 Mawozo gang, which kidnapped 17 US missionaries last year, began on Sunday. The 400 Mawozo gang is considered the most powerful of the two and has long been accused of kidnappings and other acts of violence. Government officials said they were concerned that violence in the area would worsen and that people would continue to flee. “It almost cost me my life because they broke into my house and made me lie on the ground,” said Melissa Vital, 25, who has a 3-year-old daughter. “Fortunately my friend was not there because they were killing men they found in houses.” She said gang members ordered her and her daughter to leave their home in Butte Boyer. “I do not know where to go at the moment,” said Vital, adding that she felt weak because she was still breastfeeding her daughter, but did not have much to eat. “I’m in the same clothes since Sunday.” Thousands of Haitians affected by a wave of gang violence last year in the Martissan community south of Port-au-Prince are still living in busy and unhealthy government shelters, and it is unclear where the newly displaced families will go. Emmanuel Piersaint, co-ordinator of the Haitian Civil Protection Service, told the Associated Press that officials provided cosmetic sets to displaced families and provided them with dishes of spaghetti, rice and beans. “We hope the situation will not get worse,” he said. Authorities say fighting in the Butte Boyer, Croix-des-Missions, Marecage and Mapou neighborhoods may block major roads leading to northern Haiti. Fighting gangs are already occupying the main road leading to southern Haiti, making it difficult to provide assistance to those affected by a deadly earthquake last year. ——— Associated Press journalist Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
