Gangs launch new attack on Haiti capital, dozens of people dead
Illustrative photo: Gangs in Haiti attacked the capital once again (Getty Images)
In Haiti, armed gangs launched an attack on the capital's Delmas district. As a result of the new assault, dozens of civilians were killed, according to Reuters.
Armed gangs launched a fresh attack on Haiti's capital before dawn on Tuesday, killing residents in the Delmas 30 neighborhood and causing more residents to flee as gangs continue to operate unchecked in the Caribbean nation.
More than 1 million Haitians - close to 10% of the Caribbean's most populous country - have been internally displaced due to a years-long conflict in which well-funded and broadly allied armed gangs have expanded and cemented their control over much of the capital and surrounding areas.
In a conversation with Reuters, residents of the Delmas district said they were panicking during the attack. They also reported that militants burned a person alive in front of his child.
Local rights group RNDDH's program director Rosy Auguste Ducena said her organization was not yet able to estimate a death count, but there were reports of several people being killed or shot at, and several houses set on fire.
"According to the information we've received, the armed gangs are on the rampage. They attack several areas at the same time, and it's always the same modus operandi: murder, arson, gunshot wounds, rape, and so on," Ducena said.
In early October 2024, members of the Gran Grif gang opened fire on the residents of the town of Pont-Sonde. As a result of the incident, at least 70 people were killed, including children.
It is also worth recalling that in March of last year, the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was under siege due to a gang uprising against the country's interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry. At that time, the United States, the EU, and other Western countries were forced to evacuate their diplomatic missions from the city.
