A week of clashes between rival gangs in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince has left at least 89 people dead and dozens injured, a human rights group said Wednesday.
The fresh violence, coupled with soaring food prices and fuel shortages all add to a brutal downward spiral in the security situation in the city.
The unrest erupted on July 7 between two rival factions in Cite Soleil, an impoverished and densely populated neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince.
“At least 89 people were killed and 16 others are missing,” the National Human Rights Defense Network said in a statement, adding that another 74 people sustained gunshot or knife wounds.
International humanitarian organizations have struggled to deliver crucial food and water supplies to the affected areas as well to provide medical care to the victims.
Mumuza Muhindo, head of the local mission of Doctors Without Borders, on Wednesday urged all combatants to allow medics to safely access Brooklyn, an area of Cite Soleil most affected by the violence.
Muhindo said his colleagues have seen burned and rotting corpses on along a road leading to that neighborhood.
“It’s a real battlefield,” Muhindo said. “It’s impossible to estimate how many people have been killed.”
Protesters block roads
In downtown Port-au-Prince Wednesday, protesters blocked roads and shots were heard as anger mounted over fuel shortages that have intensified as a result of the gang violence.
Gas stations across the country are mostly closed, with a major fuel terminal having been forced to halt operations due to the turf war outside the capital.
Groups of motorcycle drivers on Wednesday morning blocked intersections in Port-au-Prince and some of them set tires on fire, witnesses told Reuters.
A brief volley of gunfire rang out, though it was not immediately evident who was firing or why.
“The security situation is an important problem in Haiti. (Prime Minister) Ariel Henry is working for a quick solution,” a spokesman for the prime minister’s office said in response to a request for comment.
Gun battles between the G9 and GPEP gangs for control of Cite Soleil have forced the closure of the nearby Varreux fuel terminal, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Two ships carrying imported fuel have been unable to unload their cargoes, and fuel trucks that distribute to filling stations are not approaching the terminal due to security concerns, said the source, who asked not to be identified.
The problem mirrors the situation that faced the country in October, when gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier – who is sanctioned by the United States for human rights abuses – led a blockade of the Varreux terminal to demand Henry’s resignation.
That led to critical fuel shortages that forced many businesses to close and hospitals to limit operations, until the gang blockade was lifted nearly a month later.
Cherizier, who had been keeping a low profile since late last year, appeared in a video circulating on WhatsApp saying that the current gang battles were part of an effort to improve security conditions in the country.
“We’ve chosen to launch the battle to free the country from the grip of kidnappers,” he said in the video, referring to rival gangs.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
