Port-au-Prince, Haiti
AP
—
Gangs have attacked another town in Haiti’s central region, killing at least four people, including an 11-year-old child, a human rights activist told The Associated Press on Monday.
At least 15 other people were injured by gunfire, and more than a dozen homes were burned in Petite Rivière, said Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite.
The attack began Thursday, but police were still battling gang members on Monday, she said in a phone interview.
Horace shared grisly videos that showed people receiving treatment for serious wounds at a local hospital.
Before she could provide further details, Horace warned that the town being attacked was without power. Her cellphone was then cut off.
A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not immediately return a request for comment.
Petite Rivière is the latest community in the once peaceful Artibonite region that gangs have targeted.
In late March, gangs struck the city of Mirebalais and stormed a local prison, freeing more than 500 inmates. They also attacked the nearby town of Saut d’Eau, considered a sacred place that attracts thousands of Haitians annually for a Vodou-Catholic pilgrimage.
While gangs control at least 85% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, they have launched attacks in the country’s central region in recent years.
On Monday, Chrisla, the powerful leader of the Ti Bois gang, announced a three-day strike in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Carrefour, which has been bereft of any government presence since gangs seized control of it in recent years.
He ordered public transportation and private businesses to close, saying only hospitals and firefighters were authorized to operate.
Chrisla also said he wanted a new Haiti “so that we can all sit at the same table to reconcile this nation.”
Haiti’s government leaders have repeatedly said they would not negotiate with gangs or include them in any discussions aimed at helping stabilize the troubled country.
A UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police that began last year to help Haitian police quell violence has struggled in its fight against gangs.
More than 5,600 people were killed across Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless.
