Haiti’s capital is attacked by gangs before the change of government

By Harold Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Armed gangs have again attacked parts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince ahead of the installation of a transitional council to inaugurate a new government, local media reported on Sunday, reporting arson and heavy gunfire in the city center.

The Lower Delmas district is turning into “a battlefield between police and armed gangs,” Radio Tele Galaxie reported on X. Loud explosions could be heard as far as the district’s town hall, and automatic rifle fire could be heard near the National Palace.

Two voice recordings circulated on social media that users attributed to gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, who allegedly ordered his soldiers to burn down houses in Lower Delmas, an impoverished district of the capital where he grew up.

“Keep burning the houses. Let everyone go,” a man says in the first audio recording. In another, he says he sent canisters of gasoline: “You don’t have to know which house. Burn every house you find. Start the fire,” he says.

Reuters could not confirm the footage, but a resident of the area told Reuters she saw burning houses.

The medical facility of the State University of Haiti was also looted by gangs overnight, Radio RFM reported. Attacks were also reported in the hillside suburb of Petion-Ville.

This comes as the country prepares to install a nine-member council to succeed Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who announced he would resign on March 11 while stranded outside the country and under pressure from the United States.

Haiti’s gangs, many of which have joined together in an alliance called “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together), said their siege of the capital was a fight to oust Henry. But attacks on the capital have increased since his announcements.

Human rights groups estimate that about 90 percent of the capital is currently under the control of gangs.

Henry had traveled abroad in late February to secure Kenya’s leadership of a planned security assistance force that he had requested for 2022. Although Kenya offered to take over the leadership of the force, it encountered legal problems on the ground, prompting Henry to sign a security agreement with the East African country.

Although the United Nations ratified the force late last year, delays in progress continued, and when Henry announced his resignation pending the formation of a new government, the plan was eventually shelved.

According to government decrees approving a transition plan brokered by the Caribbean Community, members of the Transitional Council will be sworn in at the National Palace and will be required to present documents proving their eligibility.

However, the palace, as well as other public buildings and important infrastructure such as the capital’s airport, have been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks. An official date for the installation has not yet been set.

Meanwhile, Haiti’s civil protection agency warned of possible flooding in southern parts of the country, including the capital, due to heavy rains, further complicating the situation of people forced to flee their homes due to the violence.

The UN estimates that more than 360,000 people have been displaced within the country and millions are suffering from hunger as important ports and supply routes remain blocked.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Diane Craft)