Amid the political upheaval in Haiti, crowds of residents from Port-au-Prince fled on Thursday from a violent confrontation between gang members and police in the Solino neighborhood, one of the few areas still not fully controlled by gangs. Families frantically packed their belongings as they tried to escape the violence.
"We barely managed to get out," said Jean-Jean Pierre, 52, as he fled with his son in arms from the gunfire-filled and chaotic neighborhood. Other residents reported that gangs had forced people to leave their homes and had burned their belongings. One resident, Pierre, stated that the gangs are more powerful than the police.
The new interim Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who took office on Monday, issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the gunfire at planes that occurred in the country. Since 2016, Haiti has not held elections due to the violence caused by gangs, which exploit moments of political chaos to try to seize power, as recently happened in Solino.
The gangs closed the country's main airport by shooting at several planes and injuring a flight attendant on Monday. Amid the violence, the murder of a police officer fighting against the gangs in Solino was reported, but the information could not be confirmed by authorities.
The UN estimates that gangs control 85% of the city, and despite the presence of a UN-backed mission led by the Kenyan police to subdue the gangs, violence continues. Jean-Jean Pierre, who was fleeing with his family from the violence, said they have not seen the mission's presence in their neighborhood and do not know where to go.
Violence has increased in the capital since the transitional council dismissed the interim prime minister last Sunday, triggering a series of armed confrontations. The United Nations documented 20 armed confrontations in Port-au-Prince in just one day, reflecting the severe situation of violence facing the Caribbean country.
