Crime & Justice

Attacks, looting, fires in Haiti after days of calm

Port-au-Prince, Mar 14 (EFE).- Tension returned to metropolitan Port-au-Prince on Thursday with attacks, looting and arson against public institutions and private property, including the residence of the head of the Haitian National Police, after days of calm.

The armed gangs resumed their actions on a day in which the curfew decree was extended once again in Ouest department, where Port-au-Prince is located and which is under a state of emergency until Apr. 3.

The curfew was extended until Sunday between 7 pm and 5 am local time (23:00 to 09:00 GMT), in order to “restore order and take appropriate measures to regain control of the situation,” a measure from which law enforcement officers on duty, firefighters, ambulance drivers, health personnel and duly identified journalists are excluded.

The official statement indicated that law enforcement has been mandated to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and arrest violators, and reminds that during the state of emergency all demonstrations on public roads are prohibited in Ouest, both day and night.

Armed groups looted and then burned the private residence of the director general of the National Police, Frantz Elbé, in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, as was seen in photos and confirmed the police union to the media.

Hours earlier, a fire broke out in the National Penitentiary, the largest prison in the country in the heart of Port-au-Prince. Two weeks ago, an attack on this prison as well as another, orchestrated by the gang coalition Vivre Ensemble, led by the powerful Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, resulted in the escape of some 3,000 inmates.

It’s unknown what caused the fire in the prison, which was almost empty after the mass escape.

Meanwhile, members of the armed group Kraze Baryè, led by Vithelhomme Innocent, also set fire to several properties in the capital’s Bellevue area, despite the efforts of officers from the elite UTAG unit to prevent the attack.

In addition, the rector of the State University of Haiti in a statement denounced acts of vandalism and looting in the Faculty of Sciences, from which a group stole numerous materials, not yet quantified, although an initial inspection confirmed the disappearance of televisions, solar panels and equipment from several laboratories.

The Haitian Medical Association (AMH) also spoke out Thursday against violence.

“This sociopolitical crisis, which has clearly rejected the established order, does not respond to the legitimate aspirations of the majority of citizens, groups of individuals and families that make up Haitian society,” it said.

The statement expressed dismay at the acts of vandalism perpetrated throughout Haitian territory, including “looting, the forced closure of hospitals and acts of physical violence against nursing staff in public and private health institutions.”

“Health is a fundamental need for women, children, men, young people and the elderly of our country, Haiti. The well-being and security of all depends on it,” underlined the AMH, which called for peaceful solutions and asked that health institutions and personnel be respected.

The latest gang incidents come as details of the transitional presidential council were being finalized to agree on the appointment of a new prime minister and prepare the way for the holding of presidential elections. EFE

mm/tw

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