Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Gangs in Haiti launch fresh attacks, days after a new prime minister is announced

News

Gangs in Haiti launch fresh attacks, days after a new prime minister is announced
News

News

Gangs in Haiti launch fresh attacks, days after a new prime minister is announced

2024-05-03 08:37 Last Updated At:08:50

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs in Haiti laid siege to several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early Thursday in one of the biggest attacks since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced.

The attacks began late Wednesday in neighborhoods including Solino and Delmas 18, 20 and 24 located southwest of the main international airport, which has remained closed for nearly two months amid relentless gang violence.

More Images
Residents walk down a hill as they flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs in Haiti laid siege to several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early Thursday in one of the biggest attacks since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced.

Residents flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents use a public transport vehicle known as a tap-tap as they evacuate from the Delmas 22 neighborhood, with luggage and photos, to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a public transport vehicle known as a tap-tap as they evacuate from the Delmas 22 neighborhood, with luggage and photos, to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A fruit vendor walks by a burned car in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A fruit vendor walks by a burned car in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a "tap-tap" public transport vehicle to carry some of their house items as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a "tap-tap" public transport vehicle to carry some of their house items as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past road blocks as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past road blocks as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood the morning after an attack amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood the morning after an attack amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

“The gangs started burning everything in sight,” said a man called Néne, who declined to give his last name out of fear. “I was hiding in a corner all night.”

He walked with a friend as they carried a dusty red suitcase between them that was stuffed with clothes — the only thing they could save. The clothes belonged to Néne’s children, whom he had rushed out of Delmas 18 around dawn during a pause in the fighting.

The neighborhoods that once bustled with traffic and pedestrians were like ghost towns shortly after sunrise, with a heavy silence blanketing the area except for the occasional bleating from a lone goat.

An armored police truck patrolled the streets, rolling past charred vehicles and cinderblock walls where someone had scrawled “Viv Babecue,” a reference in Haitian Creole to one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.

People whose homes were spared in the attack in Delmas 18 and other nearby communities clutched fans, stoves, mattresses and plastic bags filled with clothes as they fled by foot, motorcycle or on colorful small buses known as tap-taps. Others were walking empty-handed, having lost everything.

“There were gunshots left and right,” said Paul Pierre, 47, who was walking with his partner in search of shelter after their house was burned down. They couldn’t save any of their belongings.

He said the overnight fighting separated children from their parents and husbands from their wives as people fled in terror: “Everyone is just trying to save themselves."

Martineda, a woman who declined to give her last name out of fear, said she was left homeless after armed gunmen torched her home. She fled with her 4-year-old, whom she said tried to run away when the gunfire erupted late Wednesday.

“I told him, ‘Don’t be scared. This is life in Haiti,’” she said as she balanced a heavy load of goods on her head including butter that she hoped to sell to make some money and find a new home.

When asked to recount what happened overnight, she said: “Gunfire, gunfire, gunfire everywhere! No one slept. Everyone was running.”

The attack occurred in an area controlled by Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who is leader of a powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies.

He and other gang leaders have been blamed for coordinated attacks that began on Feb. 29 across the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

The attacks eventually forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council whose majority unexpectedly announced a new prime minister on Tuesday: Fritz Bélizaire, a former sports minister. The move is threatening to fracture the nine-member council, which was sworn in last week.

As new leaders take charge of the country amid squabbling, Haitians are demanding that they prioritize their safety as gangs remain more powerful and better armed than Haiti’s National Police.

More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured from January to March of this year, a more than 50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the U.N.

Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in just one month as gangs that control an estimated 80% of the capital have increasingly been targeting previously peaceful neighborhoods.

Ernest Aubrey recalled how he moved to Delmas 18 a decade ago. Now, he’s leaving home for the first time.

“It’s too much. We can’t resist anymore,” he said of the gangs. “They are taking everything we own.”

As he walked with a heavy bag, he spotted an acquaintance leaving in a car and ran toward them to see if he could get a ride.

One of the few people who opted to stay in Delmas 18 was Vanessa Vieux. While she sent her elderly mother to the countryside early Wednesday after the attack, she decided it was best if she didn’t relinquish her home to gangs. Plus, she has faith in Haiti’s National Police.

“I live next to a police officer,” she said. “That’s why I’m not scared.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Residents walk down a hill as they flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents walk down a hill as they flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents flee their homes in the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents use a public transport vehicle known as a tap-tap as they evacuate from the Delmas 22 neighborhood, with luggage and photos, to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a public transport vehicle known as a tap-tap as they evacuate from the Delmas 22 neighborhood, with luggage and photos, to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A fruit vendor walks by a burned car in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A fruit vendor walks by a burned car in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a "tap-tap" public transport vehicle to carry some of their house items as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents use a "tap-tap" public transport vehicle to carry some of their house items as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past road blocks as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past road blocks as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood the morning after an attack amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood the morning after an attack amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Next Article

De La Cruz goes 4 for 4 with career-high 4 steals in Reds' 7-2 win over Dodgers

2024-05-17 13:17 Last Updated At:13:31

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elly De La Cruz went 4 for 4 with a career-best four stolen bases and scored three times in the Cincinnati Reds’ 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Nick Martinez (1-2) won in relief, permitting one hit over five shutout innings and striking out four for the Reds, who used seven pitchers in a bullpen game.

Cincinnati snapped the Dodgers' franchise record of 22 straight games allowing four runs or fewer.

Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for the first time since April 19-20 and has dropped four of seven overall.

Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout on his first bobblehead night of the season, when fans snarled traffic and waited in long lines to snag the giveaway depicting the Japanese superstar. Only 40,000 fans got a bobblehead among the sellout crowd of 53,527 — the biggest in the majors this season and at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019.

De La Cruz matched his career high for hits and reached base five times with three singles, a double and a walk. His four steals were the most by a player against the Dodgers since Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth had that many on May 12, 2009.

The speedy De La Cruz finally got thrown out by catcher Austin Barnes trying to swipe second base to end the seventh. The 22-year-old shortstop has 30 steals this season. Conner Capel had the Reds' other stolen base in the game.

Will Benson hit a leadoff homer against Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow (6-2). Tyler Stephenson drove in two runs, including a two-out RBI single in the third that made it 3-0.

The Reds tacked on three more in the ninth for a 7-0 lead.

The Dodgers managed just two hits until the ninth, when Andy Pages singled while pinch-hitting for Ohtani. They loaded the bases and scored two runs on Gavin Lux's bases-loaded single.

Los Angeles went down in order in four straight innings. Three of those came against Martinez, including the sixth when he retired Mookie Betts, Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Frankie Montas (2-3, 4.20 ERA) starts Friday night against Dodgers LHP James Paxton (5-0, 2.58), who has a three-game winning streak.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) catches a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Kikè Hernández during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) catches a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Kikè Hernández during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) throws to first during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández was safe at first. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) throws to first during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández was safe at first. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) swings a strike during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) swings a strike during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Tyler Stephenson reacts after a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Elly De La Cruz scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Tyler Stephenson reacts after a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Elly De La Cruz scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after swinging a strike during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after swinging a strike during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz adjusts his helmet after stealing second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz adjusts his helmet after stealing second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz reacts after scoring off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz reacts after scoring off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz scores off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz scores off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Recommended Articles