At least 18 civilians have been killed since Sunday in Port-au-Prince, where two gangs are fighting to take control of neighborhoods in the north of the capital, the Haitian Civil Protection announced on Wednesday.
The citizens “killed between April 24 and 26” include an “eight-member family”, as well as “three young women and three children”, according to a report by the public body, a copy of which came in the possession of the French Agency.
“Several hundred people” were forced to flee the conflict-ridden area, including about 50 who took refuge in a square “a few hundred meters from the front line”, according to the document.
They sleep wherever they find and are “exposed to great dangers”, especially women and girls who suffer violence “because of their gender”, as well as for the protection of children, warns the Civil Protection.
Although they have been operating in run-down coastal neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince for some time, gangs have dramatically increased their dominance in areas of the city since the fall of 2020. Murders and kidnappings have multiplied.
The Haitian authorities have not yet commented on the bloody incident, which has paralyzed any activity in the northern part of the capital. Police spokesman Gary DeRozier was unable to provide information to the press yesterday morning.
The area where the battles are taking place is of strategic importance. It passes the only road to the northern half of the country and from the Haitian capital to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
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