Haiti: Families flee in fear amid violent clashes

Residents of Port-au-Prince have fled their homes amid fighting between gang members, a Reuters reporter said, following the deaths of some 20 people last week by gunmen in the Haitian capital.

Last Wednesday, Civil Protection confirmed that fighting between two rival gangs, the Chen Mechan and the 400 Mawozo, had forced thousands of residents to flee their homes.

Yesterday afternoon, heavy fire was heard in the poor district of Cite Soleig. Dozens of panicked residents fled their homes, fleeing in every direction. Some had their hands up, showing that they were unarmed, so as not to be targeted by fire.

It is not clear which gangs were involved in yesterday’s clashes, or how many residents were displaced.

Heavily armed men with politicians were also seen in the La Plen district, not far from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

The gangrene of gang violence in Haiti has spread since the assassination of President Jouvenel Moyes last July by a group of mercenaries. Part of the country is now characterized beyond any control by the authorities. Gangs are expanding their dominance in areas of the capital; killings and kidnappings have multiplied. The police, often faced with dramatic overpopulation of criminals, are unable to deal with the situation, they have lost control of neighborhoods and roads of strategic importance.

The security crisis in Haiti is increasing the flow of migrants to the United States. Many Haitians leave, initially for the Bahamas, in overcrowded, often anything but sailing boats.

SOURCE: AMPE