PORTAUPRINCE - The simmering gang violence plaguing Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has exploded in recent days into open warfare, with at least 18 civilians killed amid reports of house burnings and rapes.
“Armed men of the ‘400 Mawozo’ gang set fire to my house” and “killed several of my neighbors before also burning their houses,” Lucien, who lives in the violent northern slums, told AFP.
“They rape women and girls when they manage to get into a house,” added Lucien, who preferred not to give his full name for fear of reprisals.
In a city where some districts are already dominated by crime rings, the violence of recent days forced Lucien to leave his home to take refuge with his sick mother in a public square on Tuesday.
Police said that at least 18 civilians have been killed since Sunday, including “a family of eight” as well as “three young women and three children.”
Like Lucien, several hundred people fled the area where the clashes were happening, including around 50 who took refuge in a public square “a few hundred meters from the front line,” police said.
Others remain trapped in their homes. Among them, one resident who preferred to remain anonymous said his little brother was hit by a “stray bullet in the leg on Sunday, while he was at home.”
“We were able to stop the bleeding but we can’t take the risk of taking him to the hospital and we don’t have any medicine to relieve his pain either,” said the man, who is in his twenties.
With bursts of automatic gunfire ringing in their neighborhood for four days, the inhabitants are in dire straits.
“We have no more water or food,” one young woman said.
“Armed men of the ‘400 Mawozo’ gang set fire to my house” and “killed several of my neighbors before also burning their houses,” Lucien, who lives in the violent northern slums, told AFP.
“They rape women and girls when they manage to get into a house,” added Lucien, who preferred not to give his full name for fear of reprisals.
In a city where some districts are already dominated by crime rings, the violence of recent days forced Lucien to leave his home to take refuge with his sick mother in a public square on Tuesday.
Police said that at least 18 civilians have been killed since Sunday, including “a family of eight” as well as “three young women and three children.”
Like Lucien, several hundred people fled the area where the clashes were happening, including around 50 who took refuge in a public square “a few hundred meters from the front line,” police said.
Others remain trapped in their homes. Among them, one resident who preferred to remain anonymous said his little brother was hit by a “stray bullet in the leg on Sunday, while he was at home.”
“We were able to stop the bleeding but we can’t take the risk of taking him to the hospital and we don’t have any medicine to relieve his pain either,” said the man, who is in his twenties.
With bursts of automatic gunfire ringing in their neighborhood for four days, the inhabitants are in dire straits.
“We have no more water or food,” one young woman said.