5 killed In Haiti As Vigilante Crowds Target Suspected Gangs

PETIONVILLE, Haiti – Vigilante killings are on the rise in Haiti’s capital and adjacent environs, where a crowd killed and burned on fire five men on Tuesday, leaving one of the remains near a police station in an expensive neighborhood.

According to witnesses, the male victims were carried alive from the slum of Jalousie outside Port-au-Prince and then slaughtered. The majority of the remains were found strewn along the road leading to the home of former President Jovenel Mose, who was assassinated in July 2021. A fifth body was discovered near the police station in the Petionville area.

“It’s horrible for them to be killed in front of the eyes of the police,” Jean-Marc Étienne, sitting in a park in front of the station, remarked. “That demonstrates that nobody is safe, that anyone can be killed.”

The Associated Press went to the police station, but officials refused to speak. A police spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.

Since last week, at least 18 individuals have been confirmed slain by mobs in Port-au-Prince and neighboring locations; however, videos and photographs shared on social media imply a greater number. Most photographs show mobs pelting men with massive boulders and setting fire to gasoline-soaked tires placed around or on their bodies.

The deaths come as some Haitians express frustration and anger about growing gang violence, with the United Nations reporting a 20% rise in killings from January to the end of March compared to the same period in 2022. Furthermore, 637 kidnappings have been reported this year, a 63% increase over the last three months of 2022.

“The police and justice (officials) have to take control,” Étienne remarked of the vigilante killings.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the rapid deployment of a foreign armed force, a call reiterated last week by the U.N.’s special envoy to Haiti

More than 130,000 Haitians have fled their neighborhoods as gangs break into homes, set them on fire, and murder people in territory controlled by other gangs.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry decried the ongoing vigilante killings on Monday and urged people to “calm down.”

“The insecurity we experience is appalling,” he added, adding that people should not be dragged “into mindless violence.”

On social media, some Haitians have decried the violence, claiming that alleged gang members have a right to life and do not support a growing vigilante movement.

Images and videos shared on social media show Haitians sharpening machetes and using large trucks to block neighborhood gates as they promise to drive out gangs that the United Nations believes control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian National Police published a statement over the weekend declaring that they are dismantling gangs around the country that are “terrorizing the civilian population.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the rapid deployment of a foreign armed force, a call reiterated last week by the U.N.’s special envoy to Haiti. The Haitian prime minister requested in October, but the United Nations Security Council has shown no interest.

SOURCE – (AP)