Violence in Haiti: 10 people are killed and 4 power plants are destroyed

At least 10 people died this Monday (18) in a residential area of ​​Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, police confirmed to CNN.

It is not clear who committed the alleged murders, but a police spokesman denied the involvement of police officers in the case.

The news comes amid an increase in gang activity in the area overnight and into Monday morning. Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies lying in the street with apparent gunshot wounds.

A gang has also been attacking locations near LaBoule, an affluent area located in Petionville, south of Port-au-Prince.

Multiple security sources reported that gang members attacked a bank, among other targets, in the area.

Destroyed power plants

Four power plants in Port-au-Prince were destroyed and considered “totally dysfunctional”, the national company Electricity of Haiti (EDH) announced this Monday.

Allegedly, gang members vandalized electrical infrastructure and stole several items, including important documents, electrical installations, cables, inverters, batteries and computer and office equipment, “further aggravating the company's financial and technical situation”, the company highlighted.

The Varreux power station was also damaged and is not working, EDH wrote.

Consequently, several areas of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area cannot receive electricity as usual, leading to fears that an attack could soon occur.

The company's general management asks the authorities for help with the security of its other stations across the country, the statement concludes.

More than 16 thousand people left Port-au-Prince in seven days

While foreigners ensure their exit from Haiti, residents carry out their own internal exodus and, in just seven days, 16,947 people left the metropolitan area of ​​the capital, Port-au-Prince, to seek refuge in other provinces.

According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), this flow took place between March 8 and 14.

“Attacks and widespread insecurity are causing more and more people to leave the capital in search of refuge in the provinces, running the risk of passing through routes controlled by gangs,” detailed the report published on March 15, which collected data at bus stations most used in the city.

According to the report, most of the people displaced due to the escalation of violence were transported to the department of Grand Sud, which includes Grande'Anse, Sur, Nippes and Southeast.

The document highlights that this region was already home to more than 116 thousand people who fled in recent months.

Also according to the IOM, 83% of the almost 17,000 people displaced in one week were evacuated due to violence and insecurity in a city controlled by gangs, who have already cut off the supply of food, fuel and water.

Of the total number of people who left Port-au-Prince, 52% made the trip with family members, more than half of these family members were minors; 86% of them are heads of families and 76% are not fleeing for the first time. More than half don't know how long they will be away.