Hundreds of displaced Haitians flee gang war

PORT-AU-PRINCE – Hundreds of residents of Cite-Soleil, north of Haiti’s capital, were forced to flee their neighborhoods this Monday, due to an escalating war between gangs disputing territory.

For the past few days, the armed group of Chen Macon, a member of the G9 alliance, and the group of Ti Gabriel of the GPEP alliance, have been fighting to conquer more territory in Port-au-Prince.

During these clashes, about three people have been reported dead and several injured, while several houses have been burnt, forcing people to take shelter in public squares on the streets, where they can access basic services. Live in inhumane conditions without. Like water, electricity and healthcare.

For several years, the commune of Cite-Soleil has been the victim of intense armed conflicts, which have led to dozens of deaths, many injuries and hundreds of displaced people.

Haiti is going through a serious political, economic and social crisis, including extreme violence at the hands of armed gangs that control a large part of Port-au-Prince and other areas and commit massacres, rapes, kidnappings, attacks . and other crimes that caused thousands of people to flee their homes and become internally displaced or flee the country.

Violence in Haiti surged in January to levels not seen in more than two years, with at least 806 people killed, injured or abducted in a single month, not involving gang clashes, according to the United Nations. were, in addition to 300 gang members who were injured. , bringing the total number of affected people to 1,108, three times the number in January 2023.

Furthermore, according to data published in January by the World Organization for Migration (IOM), there are more than 313,000 internally displaced people in the country, with more than 60% of them expected to flee by 2023, reflecting the worsening humanitarian situation. Is.

Thousands of Haitians took to the streets last week to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whose mandate expires on February 7 under an agreement signed in December 2022 with opposition parties and civil society representatives. International community.

At least six people were killed and more than a dozen injured in violent protests demanding his departure last week. Haiti is awaiting the arrival of a multinational security assistance mission approved by the United Nations last October, to be led by Kenya, and which has not yet materialized.

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