More than 350 families were sheltered in educational centers after the Kraze Baryè gang led by Vitelhomme Innocent attacked residents in the capital’s Fort-Jacques neighborhoods in Pétion Ville, as well as Truitier and Dumornay, in the municipality of Tabarre, in late July.
On Tuesday, some of the victims took refuge in the Embassy of the United States, but they were driven away with tear gas, as denounced by the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (Réseau National en Défense des Droits de l’Homme).
A week later, the displaced people denounced the terrible conditions they have in the schools, and criticize the inaction of the Tabarre city council, as well as the absence of plans to relocate them.
The number of Haitians displaced by violence has increased in recent years as gangs control large areas of the capital and other departments such as Artibonite.
While in neighborhoods such as Cité Soleil, the country’s largest poor commune, gangs have agreed to a truce after years of fighting, other armed groups such as the Vitelhomme gang have increased their incursions into residential areas.
A boom in kidnappings is also reported in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, despite the Bwa Kale operation launched by citizens to lynch suspected gang members.
jg/ybc/jha/ane
