Residents fight alongside police in Port-au-Prince

Photo: Odelyn Joseph Archives Associated Press A police officer during a gunfight between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Nov. 11, 2024.

Evens Sanon – Associated Press in Port-au-Prince

Published at 1:39 p.m.

• Amériques

Gangs launched a new attack on Haiti’s capital early Tuesday, targeting an upscale community in Port-au-Prince, where gunmen clashed with residents who fought alongside police.

The attack on Petion-Ville was carried out by the Viv Ansanm group, whose leader, former elite police officer Jimmy Chérizier, announced the plan in a video posted on social media.

At least 28 suspected gang members were killed and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were seized, according to Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for the Haitian National Police.

It was not immediately clear whether police had prepared for the attack or were trying to preemptively protect Petion-Ville, given that Mr. Chérizier, also known as “Barbecue,” had announced his intention to attack it. Mr. Lazarre declined to comment.

Residents were angry about the latest gang attack on their community, witnesses told The Associated Press. Some of the suspected gunmen were beheaded or had their feet cut off, while the bodies were piled up and set on fire.

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The attack began before dawn when two trucks carrying suspected gang members entered Petion-Ville. One of the trucks blocked the main entrance to the community.

Chérizier had threatened retaliation against management and staff at any hotels in the area where politicians or “oligarchs” might have sought refuge.

Gunmen also attacked the neighboring community of Canapé Vert and other areas. A resident, Richard Derosier, mentioned hearing gunshots and seeing a man running around with a large machine gun.

“I asked God, ‘Are you going to let them save my life? ?’” Derosier recalled.

The attack comes days after gang violence forced Haiti’s main international airport to close for the second time this year as a new prime minister was sworn in following internal political strife.

Gunmen opened fire on a Spirit Airlines plane as it was preparing to land, wounding a flight attendant, on Nov. 11. The shooting led to the closure of the airport and the temporary cancellation of flights by several airlines to Port-au-Prince.

More than 20,000 people have been forced to flee Port-au-Prince in recent days due to gang violence, according to the United Nations.

The Viv Ansanm group is also responsible for a series of coordinated attacks that began in late February and have targeted key government infrastructure. Gunmen have attacked police stations, opened fire on the main international airport, forcing it to close for nearly three months, and raided Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.

The gangs control 85 percent of the capital and have launched attacks in previously peaceful communities in recent weeks in an attempt to seize more territory.

The attacks have intensified since the arrival of Kenyan police in late June, leading a UN-backed mission to end the violence in Haiti.

The U.S. government is pushing for a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the Kenyan-led mission because it is underfunded and understaffed.

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