Hundreds flee neighborhoods due to gang violence in Haiti

Several hundred families fled this Monday from the areas of Cité Soleil, Drouillard, Brooklyn, Boston, Carrefour Vincent and Trois Mains, invaded by armed groups that dispute the territories of the northern entrance of the capital of Haiti.

In the early hours of the morning women, children and men, some barefoot with briefcases in hand, fled the areas to the sound of gunfire. While some were able to flee, thousands more are trapped in their homes.

Look: Haitian Prime Minister Justifies Staying in Power Due to Legal Vacuum

In these different areas, schools and public markets are paralyzed, as are commercial activities. At the moment, there are no reports of casualties, but sporadic shots continue to occur, creating great panic.

Requests for help have multiplied on social networks from people who have stayed at home during the attacks that began this morning, pitting the G9 groups against the GPEP.

From north to south, from east to west, the metropolitan area of ​​Port-au-Prince is in the hands of armed groups that sow terror day and night under the impotent gaze of the authorities.

Hundreds of people seek refuge after fleeing their neighborhoods due to gang violence in Port-au-Prince. (EFE/Johnson Sabin/)

Last week, hundreds of families left the areas bordering Tabarre to take refuge in schools and public squares due to the intense war between the 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan gangs. During these clashes, at least 20 people were killed, according to the Haitian Civil Protection Department.

Since June 2021, violence by armed gangs has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

According to the latest data from the UN, about 16,500 people are still out of their homes due to the violence in the neighborhoods of Bajo Delmas, martissant and the center of the Haitian capital.

Since June 2021, violence by armed gangs has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

According to the latest data from the UN, about 16,500 people are still out of their homes due to the violence in the neighborhoods of Bajo Delmas, martissant and the center of the Haitian capital.

People walk down a street in Tabarré after leaving the Croix-des-Bouquets area to avoid clashes between armed gangs today, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (EFE / Johnson Sabin /)

Close to half of the displaced live in the house of a relative or friend and the other half remain in camps organized by the authorities or multilateral organizations, or in informal settlements.

The gangs have proliferated in recent years thanks to the weakness of the Haitian state and have taken advantage of the chaos produced after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, committed in July of last year.

Some gangs control important neighborhoods in the metropolitan area of ​​the capital, including Martissant, on the southern access to Port-au-Prince, which has contributed to isolating the city from the southwest of the country.

Source: Elcomercio