Haitian police tear-gas peaceful protesters as they demand help in stopping gangs

Police in Haiti's capital tear-gassed hundreds of peaceful protesters Monday as they called on law enforcement to help them stop the gangs that have been violently seizing control of their neighbourhoods.

Protesters burned tyres to show their anger over the police action and express their frustration as recent moves to quell rampant gang violence in Port-au-Prince have largely been unsuccessful.

Protesters like 24-year-old phone repairman Marclin Jean-Pierre said he took to the streets “to express my anger towards the government, who isn't listening.”

“We’re vulnerable to the bullets being fired day and night. Everyone is scared to walk outside because we’ll be the next victims,” he said. “We’re asking them for help and they’re not coming.”

Jean-Pierre lives in the hillside neighborhood of Solino, which since last year has become a battleground for gangs seeking to take over the area.

Local media reported that the attacks were carried out by a coalition of gangs led by Kempes Sanon, a convicted kidnapper who escaped from prison in 2021, and notorious gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue".

Since the killing of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gangs have consumed much of the country and currently control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

In Solino, the gangs sought to seize control of a strategic route, including the road leading to the capital's international airport. Families in the area have been left terrorized and with few options left.

Despite promises to prioritize security by recently appointed Prime Minister Garry Conille and the arrival of around 400 Kenyan police officers, part of a UN-backed mission, many in Haiti say they've felt no respite to the bloodshed.

Just last week, another violent prison break left a dozen dead and hundreds of thousands have had to flee their homes over the years.

Residents of the Solino neighborhood protested in hopes that their plight would be heard by officials and police would be sent to take on the gangs. Instead, marchers were blocked with barricades and sprayed with tear gas.

It left many men and women running from the same forces they had hoped would protect them, and some like Jean-Pierre with a bitter taste in his mouth.

“The international community is not pushing hard enough to stop the violence,” Jean-Pierre said.