Gangs storm another police station in Haiti: officers

Videos shared on social media showed civilians armed with assault rifles inside the police building. Several vehicles were on fire in the building’s parking lot.

When contacted by the AFP news agency, local authorities were unable to provide any information on how many people were injured in the attack.

A resident of Gressier, who spoke to AFP anonymously, said the fighting lasted several hours and that police had to retreat given the “power of the bandits.”

Residents were forced to leave their homes because of the violence in the morning, the woman said.

Haiti has been without a president or sitting parliament since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021. The last election was in 2016 and the new interim council is still struggling to assert its authority.

The country has been plagued by poverty, natural disasters, political instability and gang violence for decades, which has worsened in recent months as gangs attack the capital’s airport, prisons, police stations and other strategic targets.

Another police union, SPNH-17, said in a statement on social media that gangs now control 25 police stations and branches in the country.

str/cjc/md/bbk