Current:Home > reviewsGangs unleash new attacks on upscale areas in Haiti’s capital, with at least a dozen killed nearby -FundGuru
Gangs unleash new attacks on upscale areas in Haiti’s capital, with at least a dozen killed nearby
View
Date:2025-04-19 04:21:19
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs attacked two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti’s capital early Monday in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas.
Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighborhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on Feb. 29.
An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of Pétionville, located just below the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin.
Crowds began gathering around the victims. One was lying face up on the street surrounded by a scattered deck of cards and another found face down inside a pick-up truck known as a “tap-tap” that operates as a taxi. A woman at one of the scenes collapsed and had to be held by others after learning that a relative of hers was killed.
“Abuse! This is abuse!” cried out one Haitian man who did not want to be identified as he raised his arms and stood near one of the victims. “People of Haiti! Wake up!” An ambulance arrived shortly afterward and made its way through Pétionville, collecting the victims.
“We woke up this morning to find bodies in the street in our community of Pétionville,” said Douce Titi, who works at the mayor’s office. “Ours is not that kind of community. We will start working to remove those bodies before the children start walking by to go to school and the vendors start to arrive.”
It was too late for some, though. A relative of one of the victims hugged a young boy close to his chest, with his head turned away from the scene.
The most recent attacks raised concerns that gang violence would not cease despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, a move that gangs had been demanding.
Gangs have long opposed Henry, saying he was never elected by the people as they blame him for deepening poverty, but critics of gangs accuse them of trying to seize power for themselves or for unidentified Haitian politicians.
Also on Monday, Haiti’s power company announced that four substations in the capital and elsewhere “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional.” As a result, swaths of Port-au-Prince were without power, including the Cite Soleil slum, the Croix-des-Bouquets community and a hospital.
The company said criminals also seized important documents, cables, inverters, batteries and other items.
A child stands amid people who were detained for deportation to Haiti inside a police truck on a border bridge that connects Dajabon, Dominican Republic with Haiti, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
As gang violence continues unabated, Caribbean leaders have been helping with the creation of a transitional council. It was originally supposed to have seven members with voting powers. But one political party in Haiti rejected the seat they were offered, and another is still squabbling over who should be nominated.
Meanwhile, the deployment of a U.N.-backed Kenyan police force to fight gangs in Haiti has been delayed, with the East African country saying it would wait until the transitional council is established.
In a bid to curb the relentless violence, Haiti’s government announced Sunday that it was extending a nighttime curfew through March 20.
veryGood! (2286)
Related
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Wedding Guest Dresses From Dress The Population That Are So Cute, They’ll Make the Bride Mad
- Why Jessie James Decker and Sister Sydney Sparked Parenting Debate Over Popcorn Cleanup on Airplane
- A stubborn La Nina and manmade warming are behind recent wild weather, scientists say
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Tornadoes hit Texas and Oklahoma, killing at least 2 people and injuring dozens
- Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin Reveals Official Cause of His Collapse While Announcing NFL Return
- Are climate change emissions finally going down? Definitely not
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Tote Bag for Just $79
Ranking
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Saint-Louis is being swallowed by the sea. Residents are bracing for a new reality
- Tropical Storm Nicole churns toward the Bahamas and Florida
- Truck makers lobby to weaken U.S. climate policies, report finds
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- What a lettuce farm in Senegal reveals about climate-driven migration in Africa
- EPA seeks to mandate more use of ethanol and other biofuels
- COP27 climate talks start in Egypt, as delegates arrive from around the world
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
When flooding from Ian trapped one Florida town, an airboat navy came to the rescue
Look Back on All of the Love Is Blind Hookups That Happened Off-Camera
Love Is Blind Production Company Responds to Contestants' Allegations of Neglect
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Get 2 Peter Thomas Roth Invisible Priming Sunscreens for Less Than the Price of 1
Research shows oil field flaring emits nearly five times more methane than expected
Andrew Lloyd Webber Dedicates Final Broadway Performance of Phantom of the Opera to Late Son Nick