Gang coalition in Haiti spreads violence to Port-au-Prince neighborhood, setting fire to homes

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A gang coalition on Saturday reinforced its attacks on one of the few communities in the Haitian capital not under the control of criminal groups, seeking to take it over.

After a week of clashes with the police in the Solino neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, members of the gang coalition, Viv Ansanm, attacked once again, setting fire to several homes, as the national police union warned that the area was almost under total control of the gunmen.

As morning broke on Saturday, images from social media showed the neighborhood engulfed in smoke and flames. Many people were seen leaving the area with whatever they could carry. Security forces and armed individuals exchanged fire not far from Solino’s police base.

“Solino and Nazon almost lost!” said SPNH-17, a national police union, on X Saturday morning. It also demanded the resignation of authorities. Nazon, another neighborhood right by Solino, also came under attack.

Viv Ansanm, which means “Living Together,” formed in September 2023 as a coalition of two gang federations that were previously enemies. It was responsible for several attacks on critical government infrastructure in February which eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

On Thursday, the gangs also opened fire and hit a U.N. helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Port-au-Prince, with one U.S. airline Friday temporarily cancelling flights to the capital. Since last week, residents in Solino have been calling radio stations pleading for help as they fled their homes.

In Solino, Garry Jean-Joseph, 33, blamed the police for the ongoing violence. “I left with nothing,” he said. “The people of Solino do not understand last night, the conspiracy of the policemen and the Live Together (Viv Ansanm) soldiers.”

The resident described how at 2 a.m., a policeman in an armored car told residents to go home and that they would secure the neighborhood. However, shortly afterward residents could hear gangs invading. “The police delivered Solino,” he added.

Some officers with Haiti’s National Police have been long accused of corruption and working with gangs.

The attacks have displaced more than 10,000 people in the capital in just one week, according to a report released Thursday by the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. More than half of those left homeless crowded into 14 makeshift shelters, including schools. The remainder are temporarily staying with relatives.

Gangs control 80% of Port-au-Prince, although communities like Solino have been fighting attempts by gunmen to seize control. As gang violence surges across Haiti’s capital and beyond in recent days, concerns have been raise that a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police is struggling to contain the unrest. Thousands of people have been killed or injured this year, and more than 700,000 have been left homeless in recent years.

U.S. and Haitian officials including interim President of Haiti Leslie Voltaire have said the Kenyan mission lacks personnel and funding and have requested that it be replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Earlier this year, coordinated gang attacks forced the government to close Haiti’s main international airport for nearly three months.

Pierre-richard Luxama And Evens Sanon, The Associated Press