Reign of terror in Haiti as gangs kill 8

Port Au Prince: Gangs trying to seize full control of Haiti’s capital have killed at least four soldiers and four armed civilians who worked with law enforcement to protect their communities, an official said on Thursday.

Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff, a once peaceful community on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Two other soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians were killed in the community of Pacot inside the capital, he said.

On Wednesday night, the government said that at least four police officers and armed civilians from the community of Canapé-Vert, one of the few neighbourhoods not controlled by gangs, were killed in the attacks. In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies and picking up severed heads as trophies, saying, “We got the dogs.”

Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the prime minister’s office condemned the attacks in separate statements and said that multiple people were injured. “The government reaffirms that the fight against insecurity remains its top priority,” the office said.

Gangs control at least 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince.