Heavily armed gangs attempt to take control of Haiti’s main international airport. An armored vehicle on the runway fired at the armed groups in an attempt to prevent their entry into the airport complex, according to AP.
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Heavily armed groups have sought to take over the main international Airport. They have engaged in gun battles with the Police and the Armed Forces. During the attack, the international airport Toussaint louverture It remained closed, with no air operations or presence of passengers on site.
Associated Press reporters witnessed an armored vehicle on the tarmac firing at armed groups in an attempt to prevent their entry into the airport complex, while numerous employees and workers ran for safety of the bullets that echoed in the environment.
Late Monday in the country, it was unclear whether this assault, considered the most significant in Haiti’s history targeting the airport, had been successful. The previous week, the airport was briefly hit by shots amid the continuous attacks perpetrated by bands, although on that occasion they did not manage to enter or take control of the aerodrome.
The crisis of violence and insecurity that the country is experiencing has caused a large part of the population to be forced to leave their homes.
The 72-hour state of emergency began Sunday night
The attack on the international airport occurred just hours after Haitian authorities ordered a night curfewdue to the violence unleashed over the weekend, in which armed gangs also invaded the two largest prisons and they freed thousands of prisoners
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the rapid deterioration of the security situation in Prince Portwhere armed gangs have intensified their attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
The Government said it would try to locate all escaped inmates, including those who had left a penitentiary where the vast majority were in preventive detention, with some accused of murders, kidnappings and other crimes.
“The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and arrest all criminals,” said the Minister of Economy and Finance, Patrick Boisvert.
It is estimated that the gangs already control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital
Armed groups are increasingly coordinating their actions and choosing previously unthinkable targets, such as the Central Bank. They also attacked the national football stadium.
The first Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Kenya last week to try to gather support for the creation of a security force backed by the United Nations to help stabilize Haiti during its conflict with increasingly powerful criminal groups.
Dujarric said that the General Secretariat emphasized the need for a urgent action, especially in providing financial support to the mission, “to address the pressing security needs of the Haitian people and prevent the country from sinking further into chaos.”
More than 4,700 prisoners on the run in a country with 9,000 agents
The Haitian National Police has some 9,000 agents to guarantee the security of more than 11 million people, according to the HIM.
But the attack on National Penitentiary Late on Saturday it shocked Haitians. All but 98 of the penitentiary’s 3,798 inmates escaped, according to the Citizen Protection Office. Meanwhile, 1,033 escaped from the Croix-des-Bouquets prison.
The office stated late Monday that it was seriously concerned about the safety of judges, prosecutors, victims, lawyers and others following the massive leak.
At least a dozen dead
After the assault on the penitentiary, three bodies with gunshot wounds lay on Sunday at the entrance of the penitentiary. prison.
In another neighborhood, the bloody bodies of two men with their hands tied behind their backs lay face down as residents walked past the houses. barricades erected with burning tires.
Among the few dozen people who decided to remain in one of the prisons are 18 former Colombian soldiers accused of working as mercenaries in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
“Please, please help us,” said one of the men, Francisco Uribe, in a message widely shared on social media. “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells.”
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia has called on Haiti to provide “special protection” to men.
2024-03-05 08:39:04
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