Gang attack on Pétion-Ville: 28 dead, residents fight alongside police
The Viv Ansanm group attacked Pétion-Ville at dawn. At least 28 suspected gang members were killed, with residents having fought alongside police officers.
Pétion-Ville besieged at dawn: residents and police repel Viv Ansanm
The armed group Viv Ansanm launched an offensive against Pétion-Ville, an affluent neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, early Tuesday morning, according to ledevoir.com. Residents took up arms alongside the national police to repel the assault.
At least 28 suspected gang members were killed during the clashes, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were seized, declared Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti's national police.
An attack announced by "Barbecue"
The offensive had been made public in advance. Jimmy Chérizier, known as "Barbecue", a former elite police officer and leader of Viv Ansanm, released a video on social media announcing his intention to attack Pétion-Ville. He also threatened retaliation against the management and staff of all hotels in the area where politicians or "oligarchs" might have taken refuge.
Lionel Lazarre declined to specify whether police had anticipated the attack or taken preventative measures despite these warnings.
Two trucks at the entrance to the community
The attack began before dawn. Two trucks carrying suspected gang members entered Pétion-Ville, with one of them blocking the main access route to the neighbourhood.
Witnesses interviewed by the Associated Press reported that residents, angered by this new incursion, participated in the fighting. Some alleged armed men were beheaded or mutilated, and their bodies were piled up and then set on fire.
Simultaneous attacks also targeted the neighbouring community of Canapé Vert and other sectors of the capital. A resident, Richard Derosier, said he heard gunfire and observed a man running about with a large machine gun. "I asked God: 'Will you let them save my life?'" he recalled.
Context: airport closed, 20,000 displaced
The offensive comes days after armed men opened fire on a Spirit Airlines aircraft during landing on 11 November, injuring a flight attendant. The incident forced Haiti's main international airport to close for the second time this year, leading to the temporary cancellation of flights by several airlines to Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations has also reported that more than 20,000 people have been forced to flee the capital in recent days due to gang violence.
Viv Ansanm and escalation since February
Viv Ansanm is also held responsible for a series of coordinated attacks launched in late February, targeting strategic government infrastructure: police stations, the international airport – closed for nearly three months – and Haiti's two largest prisons, from which more than 4,000 detainees were released.
Gangs currently control 85 per cent of the capital and have expanded their operations in recent weeks to communities previously spared, seeking to take control of more territory.
Violence has intensified since the arrival at the end of June of Kenyan police officers mandated by a UN-backed mission to restore order in Haiti. The United States government is now calling for a UN peacekeeping force to replace this mission, which is considered insufficient in personnel and funding.
Source: Google News HT — Port-au-Prince