In the escalating fight to wrest control of Haiti’s regions from powerful gangs, at least four soldiers and four armed civilians, who were working with law enforcement to safeguard their neighborhoods, have lost their lives. This was disclosed on Thursday by a government official.
Lionel Lazarre, a representative of Haiti’s National Police, informed Radio Caraïbes about the tragic demise of two soldiers and four civilians in Kenscoff, a locality that once enjoyed peace, situated on the fringes of Port-au-Prince, the capital city. Additionally, he mentioned that two other soldiers and several civilians died in Pacot, a community within Port-au-Prince.
On Wednesday night, it was announced by the government that amid the relentless chaos, at least four police officers and armed civilians from Canapé-Vert—a neighborhood that has remained largely out of gang control—were also tragically killed. harrowing footage circulating on social media showcased gunmen desecrating bodies, flaunting severed heads as trophies, exclaiming, “We got the dogs.”
Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the prime minister’s office have expressed their strong condemnation of these heinous acts in separate statements, acknowledging that several individuals sustained injuries during the violence. The government reassured the public, asserting, “The fight against insecurity remains its top priority.”
Gangs have tightened their stranglehold over 85% of Port-au-Prince and have increasingly laid siege to formerly serene zones. These territories are now battlegrounds where police forces and determined citizens strive to ward off the invasive criminal elements.
Earlier occurrences of brutality claimed the lives of more than 260 individuals in Kenscoff and Carrefour, marking elevated levels of terror, as cited by the United Nations political mission in Haiti. Meanwhile, the Haitian police, in collaboration with a U.N.-endorsed mission spearheaded by Kenyan officers, endeavor to repel the encroaching gangs, but face considerable obstacles due to limited resources. The mission, which envisions a force of 2,500, currently operates with only about 1,000 personnel.
In the previous year alone, over 5,600 individuals faced gruesome deaths due to gang-driven violence, which has also displaced more than a million people, according to a report from the United Nations.