Several neighborhoods in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince woke up to the sound of automatic gunfire on Saturday, March 23, 2024, almost a month since the escalation of terror by armed gangs on Thursday, February 29, as reported by Caribbean Television Network.
According to information received by our newsroom, armed men from the Bel Air gang, allied with the “ViV Ansanm” coalition, early in the morning attacked the premises of the Departmental Operation and Intervention Brigade (BOID) located in Fort National, Port-au-Prince. The police retaliated against the criminals, who eventually retreated. In the meantime, several cars parked near the BOID headquarters, as well as houses, were set on fire by the thugs.
Intense sporadic gunfire was heard on the route to the airport, Delmas 3, Tabbarr, and Nazon, as well as in Petite Place Cazeau, according to testimonies from residents of these neighborhoods who were trapped in their homes. On Friday, March 22, 2024, nearly ten corpses were found on the road from Delmas between Delmas 60 and 95.
In the late afternoon of Thursday, March 21, 2024, the gang leader of Delmas 95, Ernst Julmé, also known as Ti Grèg, who recently escaped from the National Penitentiary on March 2, 2024, was fatally wounded during a confrontation with PNH units in Delmas 66.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, four presumed bandits were fatally wounded and two vehicles were confiscated during a police operation in Reinbold, on the Bourdon Road in Port-au-Prince, as announced by the Haitian National Police (PNH).
Several armed bandits, including the gang leader named Makandal, were fatally wounded during an operation in the Bristou neighborhood in Pétion-Ville in the afternoon of Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Between Monday, March 18, and Wednesday, March 20, 2024, over twenty lifeless bodies were found in several streets of Pétion-Ville. Several armed attacks were orchestrated by heavily armed men in the neighborhoods of Laboule, Thomassin, Pernier, Dorco, Nérètte, Delmas 95, and Bristou.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, Police Officer Anel Noël, from the 17th class, assigned to the Prime Minister’s Security Unit (USPM), was shot and killed by unidentified individuals in Delmas 72. The National Union of Haitian Police Officers (Symapoha) confirmed this information to the CTN newsroom.
These acts of violence occurred in the context of the first meeting of the 9 individuals chosen by various sectors to sit on the Presidential Transition Council.
A new meeting is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 23, among the 9 members of the Presidential Council to make a decision on who has the right to vote on the Council. It will also address the modalities for selecting the Council President and the transitional Prime Minister.
While the humanitarian and health situation continues to deteriorate in Port-au-Prince, the capital of urgent needs, no official date has been set yet for the installation of the 9-member Presidential Council.