Police in Haiti battle gang coalition trying to seize control of capital

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — 

Police clashed with gunmen Monday who are trying to instrumentality implicit 1 of the fewer communities successful Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, that is not controlled by gangs.

Solino has been nether onslaught since Thursday, with residents calling vigor stations pleading for assistance arsenic they fled their homes. Officers seized power of respective areas arsenic they support pursuing pack members, Haiti’s National Police said successful a connection precocious Sunday.

In a video posted connected societal media, pack members hoisted automatic weapons successful the aerial and cheered arsenic they claimed power implicit parts of Solino, informing that each those who are not portion of a pack conjugation known arsenic “Viv Ansanm” volition beryllium “burned to ashes.”

Prime Minister Garry Conille held an exigency gathering Monday to speech astir the attacks successful Solino and different neighborhoods. He announced the contiguous callback of respective 100 constabulary officers and soldiers from elite units protecting high-ranking officials truthful they could beryllium redeployed to neighborhoods nether assault.

“We volition not cede strategical neighborhoods specified arsenic Solino and different precocious liberated areas. The information of our citizens is non-negotiable,” helium wrote connected societal level X.

The pack conjugation has raided different neighborhoods, including Tabarre 27, with the attacks forcing much than 4,200 radical to flee, according to a study the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration released Monday.

More than 60% of those near stateless moved into already crowded makeshift shelters hosting others who mislaid their homes successful caller years to pack violence. Others sought refuge astatine a school, a religion and a wellness center, according to the report.

Gangs that power 80% of Port-au-Prince besides person threatened journalists covering the astir caller attacks, calling them retired by sanction and ordering that they beryllium killed.

Viv Ansanm, which means “Living Together,” formed successful September 2023, creating a conjugation betwixt 2 ample pack federations that were enemies. It was liable for launching large-scale attacks connected captious authorities infrastructure starting successful February, yet starring to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

The conjugation besides has unified to combat a U.N.-backed ngo led by Kenyan constabulary to quell pack unit successful Haiti that began earlier this year.

After the conjugation was formed, equipped clashes betwixt gangs fell by 78% from March to August, compared with the erstwhile six months, according to a study published this period by ACLED, a U.S. nonprofit that collects information connected convulsive conflicts worldwide.

“The consolidation of the Viv Ansanm confederation has enabled gangs to absorption their resources connected transgression activities and confrontations with information forces, alternatively than engaging successful infighting,” it said.

The study besides warned that “despite the volatile relationships among pack members, Viv Ansanm is apt to endure arsenic agelong arsenic it faces the shared menace of an planetary information force.”