The offensive turned into a settling of scores. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, 28 gang members were killed overnight from Monday to Tuesday when they launched an attack in several neighborhoods of the city. They were shot dead by the police… but also by residents who came to lend a hand to the police, say the authorities.
Around 2 a.m., police intercepted a truck and a minibus transporting gang members in Pétion-Ville and the center of the capital, said the deputy spokesperson for the Haitian National Police, Lionel Lazarre.
Residents organized into self-defense groups
During these two encounters, the police opened fire on the gang members, killing 10 of them, according to the same source. Forced to flee, the others were pursued and then killed by residents, organized into self-defense groups. Their bodies were then burned in a street in Pétion-Ville, reports an AFP photographer.
Since last week, Port-au-Prince has been facing a new outbreak of violence caused by “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together), the gang alliance formed in February which managed to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Demanding the resignation of the Presidential Transitional Council, one of its leaders, Jimmy Chérisier, alias “Barbecue” had launched an appeal on the networks to overthrow the power in place. “The Viv ansanm coalition will use all its means to achieve this,” he declared Monday evening.
