Haiti: state of emergency and curfew after gang assault

Haiti: state of emergency and curfew after gang assault

The Haitian government has declared a state of emergency as well as a curfew, in an attempt to regain control of the streets after the outbreak of violence which affected the country this weekend, and during which members of Armed gangs stormed the country's two largest prisons. 

Some prisoners, like Carlos, a former Colombian mercenary, preferred to stay in their cell. He recounts a night of fear: " last night, the situation was terrible. The riots that broke out in the prison put our lives in danger. We took shelter, we were the target of numerous blows of fire, we came close to death. We Colombians owe nothing to anyone. We stayed in our cells. Why didn't we leave? Well, we don't need to run away from anyone either. We don't owe anything to anyone. We stayed here ."  

At least ten people were killed in this assault on the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. Several thousand prisoners escaped.

Haiti is facing a serious political, security and humanitarian crisis since the assassination in 2021 of President Jovenel Moise.

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