In the troubled Caribbean country of Haiti, more than 3,000 residents have fled a neighborhood in the capital Port-au-Prince after a gang attacked it.
According to the authorities on Tuesday (local time) four deadbut the information could not initially be confirmed by an independent party.
People left the district on foot, on motorcycles or crammed into cars loaded with bags and suitcases, an AFP journalist said.
“They looted and set fire to houses” and “killed several people,” said Elie Derisca, a resident of the affected Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood in the south of the city.
“The authorities have done nothing to help us.” She doesn’t know where to go, Derisca added. Gang members would have settled in some houses.
Brutal police operation at demo
According to the police, the neighborhood is regularly attacked by members of a gang that led by Renel Destina – also known as Ti Lapli who is wanted by the FBI.
On Monday, people demonstrated in the district against the insecure situation in the country, whereupon the police intervened. The police also said they would “use all means to disarm trouble-mongering gangs.”
Haiti has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis for years, to which gang violence, political instability and economic stagnation also contribute.
According to the UN, the number of people in the country dependent on humanitarian aid has doubled in the past five years alone. (AFP)
