Port-au-Prince became involved in war between Haitian gangs

• The UN says that between July 8 and July 17, more than 200 people were killed.
• The makeshift cathedral in Port-au-Prince caught fire during the fighting.
• Police fought with the gang members near the presidential palace.

Since it started three weeks ago, a war between Haitian gangs that has killed hundreds of people has spread to the centre of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

On Wednesday, members of different gangs and police were fighting each other and the police with guns.

During the fighting, the makeshift cathedral in the city caught fire.

No one knows yet how many people died in this latest battle, but the UN says that between July 8 and July 17, more than 200 people were killed.

Before, the poor neighbourhood of Cité Soleil was where most of the fighting between the G9 criminal alliance and a rival group called G-Pèp took place. But on Wednesday, police fought with the gang members near the presidential palace.

Even though there has always been gang violence in Port-au-Prince, the war between G9 and G-Pèp has taken it to a whole new level.

Local news sources say that members of a gang that is part of the G9 alliance went into the Bel-Air neighbourhood and were met by members of a gang that is part of the G-Pèp alliance.

Father Marc Henry Siméon, a spokesman for the Port-au-Prince archdiocese, told that firefighters had put out a fire at the church that has been the city’s cathedral since the 2010 earthquake destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Fr. Siméon said he didn’t know if the church was a planned target or just “collateral damage” but he did say that “bandits” were free to do whatever they wanted in the area.

The science faculty of the university found bullet casings in classrooms, so classes have been cancelled until further notice.

The prisoners at the National Penitentiary broke out of their cells while gunfights were going on nearby, but the director of the prison said that everything was under control.

One person who lived there said that Port-au-Prince was “lawless”

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