During a four-day siege, gang members have attacked a significant neighborhood in the capital of Haiti that is home to many police officers. The locals are afraid that the violence may spread across Port-au-Prince.
The sound of automatic rifles recently resounded across Solino, and the once-calm neighborhood was enveloped in thick columns of black smoke as desperate inhabitants began phoning radio stations to beg for assistance.
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“If police don’t come, we are dying today!” stated one unknown caller.
The media was informed by 52-year-old street seller Lita Saintil that she and her teenage nephew left Solino on Thursday after being stranded in her home for hours due to continuous gunshots.
Gangs set fire to the houses surrounding hers, and she remembered seeing at least six dead as she ran away.
“It’s very scary now,” she said. “I don’t know where I’m going.”
Who planned the attack on Solino and took part in it was not immediately apparent. Thousands of people live in the village, which was formerly overrun by gangs before being driven out in the mid-2000s by a U.N. peacekeeping operation.
An estimated 80% of Port-au-Prince is currently controlled by gangs, who are accused of killing close to 4,000 people and kidnapping an additional 3,000 last year, outnumbering police in the nation of over 12 million people. The attack may signal a turning point for these groups.
In communities like Canape Vert, which have up until now been calm and mostly secure, gangs would have easy access if Solino fell.
“Life in Port-au-Prince has become extremely crazy,” Saintil remarked. “I never thought Port-au-Prince would turn out the way it is now.”
Afraid of the continuing bloodshed in Solino, surrounding villages started building barriers on Thursday with rocks, vehicles, tires, and even banana trees to keep gangs out.
A guy standing next to a barricade in Canape Vert said he had been watching the demonstrations earlier this week that were led by followers of Guy Philippe, the former rebel commander who has promised to launch a revolution to expel gangs.
“It’s more misery,” the individual, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about the current issue in Haiti. “We are suffering. The country is grangerized.”
Parents hurried to pick up their children from schools throughout Port-au-Prince, fearing that the violence in Solino might spread to nearby communities.
“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to make it back home,” stated a mother who, out of fear, chose not to reveal her identity. “There is no public transportation, and tires are burning everywhere. We don’t know what we’re going to do.”
The UN Security Council authorized the deployment of a foreign military force, headed by Kenya, to assist in reducing gang violence in October, and Haiti is currently awaiting its arrival.
On January 26, a Kenyan court is scheduled to provide a decision about an order that is presently preventing the deployment.
