On Thursday, rebel police officers rioted in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, in opposition to the murder of over a dozen of their coworkers by criminal gangs.
The riot police accuse the administration of failing to act. More than 100 protesters stopped roadways, set fire to tires, smashed cars, and destroyed security equipment. According to local media, six officers attempted to infiltrate Haiti’s international airport by smashing through the gates of the prime minister’s mansion.
According to the National Union of Haitian Police Officers, numerous gang attacks on police stations have resulted in the deaths of 14 individuals since the year’s beginning. The National Police of Haiti reports that a shootout on Wednesday alone resulted in the deaths of seven officers.
Numerous residents and incensed police officers protested in Port-au-Prince after two police officers were killed inside a police station in a village in northern Haiti and four more were killed in an execution-style attack on the street outside.
Vant Bef Info claimed that some of them visited Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s official residence. When they discovered it to be vacant, they went to the airport in Port-au-Prince where Mr. Henry had just arrived from a summit in Argentina.
According to Haiti’s Radio Tele Metronome, protesters purportedly attempted to damage the airport’s windows in order to gain entry, but Mr. Henry was able to flee. Following the protests, several establishments, including schools, remained closed on Thursday.
Months of violent gang warfare have plagued Port-au-Prince and other towns, and Haitian media has reported a sharp increase in kidnappings since the beginning of the year. Since Mr. Henry took office in 2021, according to the National Network of the Defense of Human Rights in Haiti, 78 police personnel have been slain.
The police in Haiti has been unable to stop the bloodshed because they are outnumbered by various criminal groups. The Henry government requested a multinational security force in October 2022 to help restore order, but the request has not yet been heeded despite some increased assistance from the US and Canada.
According to Haitian human rights organizations, armed groups are in charge of the city’s entry and exit points as well as at least 60% of the capital’s surroundings. A significant gasoline station in Harbor-au-port Prince’s was taken over by gangs in September of last year, preventing the importation of petroleum and impeding operations to distribute food and medication.
A cholera outbreak increased as a result of the blockage, which also forced numerous companies to close and hindered the delivery of gasoline and bottled water. As of Wednesday, “the situation in Haiti is terrible,” according to Helen La Lime, the UN representative in Haiti.
“You are aware of the new levels of gang-related violence. In 2022, we will experience one kidnapping on average every six hours. Without substantial amounts of support, Ms. La Lime warned, “We will not be able to win the struggle.”
