The southern entrance to the Haitian capital continues to be dominated by armed gangs who kill, kidnap, and hijack cargo trucks all day long. One year later, this situation still persists under the passive gaze of government and police authorities.
This June 1, 2022 marks one year since the gangs operating in Martissant and surrounding areas have occupied the southern periphery of the capital without being bothered. Moreover, no new police operation has been carried out to dismantle the gangsters after the failed operation in Village de Dieu on March 12, 2021, where six police officers from the elite units were ambushed, namely Georges Renoit, Ariel Poulard, Wislet Désilus, Lucdor Pierre, Georges Vivender and Stanley Eugène. They were killed, desecrated, mutilated and burned.
In addition, clashes between rival gangs were reported in the neighborhoods of Fontamara and Martissant, forcing thousands of families to flee their homes in search of safety. Some of these displaced people have taken refuge in the Carrefour sports center.
Gangs from the neighborhoods of Gran Ravin and Ti Bwa, led respectively by Ti lapli and Krisla, clashed on the night of June 1, 2021 over control of territory. Dozens of people were killed and houses were burned.
Since then, gang violence has intensified at the southern entrance to Port-au-Prince. It is causing the paralysis of school and commercial activities in the third district. This climate of terror also affects activities in the south of the country. Goods often remain blocked, because it is impossible for drivers to cross the road to Martissant because of the presence of bandits.
To get to their daily activities or to return home, some entrepreneurs operating in the south are forced to take the road to Saint Jude to avoid the suburb of Martissant where gangs shoot at anything that moves.
“This situation is untenable,” said Jean Calixte Ferguston, spokesperson for the grouping of associations in the south, who announced that all commercial businesses in the region would keep their doors closed this Wednesday, June 1, 2022, to protest the situation of terror that has been taking hold in Martissant for the past year.
On December 6, 2021, gangs invaded the sub-police station of Martissant and set it on fire. Observers believe that the gangs intend, through these barbaric acts, to humiliate the police institution and ensure their criminal hegemony.
While entrepreneurs in the south are preparing to organize a large mobilization this Wednesday, June 1, against the outbreak of violence that prevails in the south of the capital, gangsters opened fire, this Monday, May 30, 2022, on a bus of the company “Voice of Angels” providing the route Port-au-Prince-Cayes. The result: one dead and two injured.
One year after the outbreak of violence in Martissant, sectors deplore the fact that no clear signal has been sent by the authorities to put an end to acts of violence. They also question the reasons why gangs are carrying out their crimes against a peaceful and defenseless population.
In an attempt to provide an appropriate response, in March 2021, the former president, Jovenel Moïse, reactivated the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantling and Reintegration (CNDDR) in order to facilitate the restoration of peace and security in the hot districts.
This commission was made up of Lucien Jean Chenet, Edwine Florexil, Jean Rebel Dorcenat, Jude Jean Pierre, Frantz Toyo, Abler Roudy Lalane, Greatz Marie Lydie Sironel Charles, Innocent Joseph and Rodiny Jean Baptiste.
For more than one, this commission did not last long.
