Full scale of Haiti brutal gang violence revealed as children listed among victims
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The report released on Wednesday by the rights group found that among those killed were seven people aboard a sailboat traveling west of Port-au-Prince that was providing public transportation; nine bus passengers traveling on the main road that connects Port-au-Prince to the central Artibonite region; and a sergeant at the headquarters of Haiti’s Armed Forces who was struck in the head by a stray bullet. Many of the killings took place after gangs launched large-scale attacks on Feb. 29, burning police stations, opening fire on the main airport and storming Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. But the National Human Rights Defense Network said it was concerned about the council since some of the members come from sectors that “do not inspire confidence, due to their past or present behavior.” “It is the duty of the population to remain vigilant and monitor all the decisions and actions of the council in order to prevent the state’s coffers from being plundered and acts of corruption from being perpetrated,” the report stated. Espérance, with the human rights group, blamed what he called complicity between gangs and police and the country’s elite for the current situation, noting that Haiti’s national police are overwhelmed.