In an early Tuesday attack, armed groups launched a violent assault on Haiti’s capital, causing the tragic loss of civilian lives in Delmas 30, a neighborhood previously known for its tranquility. The assault commenced before dawn, with gunfire resonating throughout the area, forcing residents to flee in terror. Many carried small children or assisted the elderly as they desperately sought safety.
“The nation is in agony,” expressed Moricette Cedric Christian, a local 27-year-old. He pointed the finger at the Viv Ansanm gang coalition for orchestrating the attack, which he noted was one of numerous recent violent incidents they’ve claimed responsibility for. “They don’t want us to survive,” Christian lamented. Reports from local media indicated that among the casualties were two Haitian soldiers.
As of yet, neither police nor military officials have made statements regarding the attack. A local resident, who preferred to remain unnamed, was seen transporting a deceased relative’s body in a wheelbarrow. “Many have fallen victim,” he observed, expressing the difficulty in evading such gang onslaughts where escape routes were blocked from all sides.
The United Nations stated that recent gang violence has rendered over 6,000 individuals homeless around the Port-au-Prince metropolitan region in just the last month. The organization detailed the ruthlessness of such attacks, where entire families were killed in their homes and individuals, including children and infants, were shot as they sought to escape.
Over the past year, more than 5,600 lives were lost due to such violence in Haiti, with the relentless gang activities causing over 1 million to be displaced in recent years.
