Gang conflicts left 150 people dead in Haitian capital

In Haiti, about 150 people have been murdered and hundreds have been injured in gunfights between competing gangs, as the newest wave of violence has paralysed much of the enormous metropolis, Port-au-Prince.

MSF said on Thursday that it has treated more than 96 persons with gunshot wounds in its Port-au-Prince medical facilities since April 24.

“The number of trauma admissions received each week has tripled since mid-April, and the majority are very serious gunshot wounds requiring intensive care,” said Mumuza Muhindo, MSF’s director of mission in Haiti, in a statement on Thursday. “The Haitian people are in a very precarious situation.”

The National Human Rights Defense Network discovered earlier this week that up to 148 individuals had been slain after severe confrontations between the 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan, two dreaded rival gangs.

During a horrific fortnight of fighting, gang members raped women and girls and burnt others alive, according to a report released on Tuesday by the organisation. Gangs murdered 47 persons in one neighbourhood before burning 17 of their bodies and burying the rest in mass graves.

The study asserts that “a slaughter of great savagery was performed,” and that authorities did little to stop the atrocity. “There was no reaction at the highest level of the state.”

According to charity operating in the city, many inhabitants escaping violence have landed at improvised shelters, often just a few blocks from their houses, where they confront minimal humanitarian help and risk abuse.
Roadblocks have been erected in gang-controlled areas around Port-au-Prince, preventing ambulances and humanitarian trucks from moving. MSF said that several patients they examined could only reach a hospital after a 24-hour wait owing to gang-manned barriers.

According to analysts, the increase in violence is also attributable to a developing feud between the 400 Mawozo and G9 gangs, which erupted after the former entered the latter’s area.

“They would have had greater influence to negotiate electoral votes and access to more enterprises that can be extorted for security if they had occupied more area,” said Louis-Henri Mars, founder and executive director of local peace-building organisation Lakou Lapè.

Since its bloody independence from French colonisers two centuries ago, Haiti, the world’s first black republic, has been plagued by bloodshed, political instability, and international involvement.

Today, the situation is extremely dire, as gangs continue to wage war against each rivals, the government, and civilian populations, sometimes with the implicit cooperation of political and commercial leaders.