Gang coalition in Haiti spreads violence to Port-au-Prince neighborhood

Описание: (26 Oct 2024)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4528896

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 26 October 2024
1. Solino neighborhood with smoke
2. Various of cars and motorcycles piled up with furniture and appliances
3. Displaced people walking and carrying bags with belongings
4. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) Kethelie Morose, displaced resident of Solino:
"The gangs have kicked us out. They are already where I live, and they are coming. I have many children with me. What do I do? I don't know where to go. I don't know what to say."
5. ars and motorcycles piled up with furniture and appliances
6. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) no name given, driver, resident of Solino:
"The population is on the street. Children and old people. The country has no leaders."
7. Various of armored police vehicles and trucks driving by


STORYLINE:
A gang coalition on Saturday reinforced its attacks on one of the few communities in the Haitian capital not under the control of criminal groups seeking to take it over.

After a week of clashes with the police in the Solino neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, members of the gang coalition Viv Ansanm attacked once again, setting fire to several homes, as the national police union warned that the area was almost under total control of the gunmen.

As morning broke on Saturday, images from social media showed the neighborhood engulfed in smoke and flames.

Many people were seen leaving the area with whatever they could carry.

Security forces and armed individuals exchanged fire not far from Solino’s police base.

Kethelie Morose gathered what she could in a huge bundle that she carried on her head.

"The gangs have kicked us out. They are already where I live, and they are coming. I have many children with me. What do I do? I don't know where to go. I don't know what to say.", said Morose.

“Solino and Nazon almost lost!” said SPNH-17, the national police union, on Saturday morning.

They also demanded the authorities' resignation.

Nazon, another neighborhood right by Solino, also came under attack.

Viv Ansanm, which means "Living Together," formed in September 2023 as a coalition of two gang federations that were previously enemies.

It was responsible for several attacks on critical government infrastructure in February, which eventually led to Prime Minister Ariel Henry's resignation.

On Thursday, the gangs also opened fire and hit a U.N. helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Port-au-Prince, with one U.S. airline Friday temporarily canceling flights to the capital.

Since last week, residents in Solino have been calling radio stations pleading for help as they fled their homes.

The attacks have displaced more than 10,000 people in the capital in just one week, according to a report released Thursday by the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.

AP Video shot by Pierre Luxama

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