A prison break in the Haitian city of Saint-Marc left 12 inmates dead on Friday, according to Mayor Myriam Fievre, the third such incident in recent months in Haiti, which is suffering from a long-standing humanitarian crisis aggravated by gang violence.
State prosecutor Venson Francois said the situation was under control at the prison, which held about 540 inmates, on Friday afternoon, but that locals should remain vigilant and be on the lookout for possible escapes.
“The situation is under control, but the results are catastrophic. All the police officers’ dormitories have burned down. The archives have burned down. They have set fire to everything except their cells,” Francois said.
Earlier in the day, unverified videos shared on social media showed people climbing over walls, smoke rising from walls surrounded by barbed wire, a loud explosion and a fire.
Local government official Walter Montas said the incident arose from a spontaneous protest as prisoners were lacking food and facing dire health problems.
National police did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for more information on the incident in Saint-Marc, about 88 km (55 miles) north of the capital.
In early March, armed gangs took more than 4,000 inmates from two major Haitian prisons: the National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince and a civilian prison in Croix-des-Bouquets.
The March jailbreak triggered a state of emergency that was soon followed by the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had travelled abroad to secure Kenya’s support for a security mission to combat armed gangs, only to be prevented from returning because of clashes that cut off the main airport.
#prison #break #Haiti #deaths #Diario #Página
