Authorities in Haiti announced Monday that officers have regained control of a police station in the capital, which had been a recent target of armed gangs.
Since early 2024, gangs have raided over two dozen police stations in Port-au-Prince, targeting critical state infrastructure in a series of coordinated attacks.
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The station, located in Gressier at the western edge of Port-au-Prince, was attacked on Sunday. Lionel Lazarre, a spokesperson for a police union, reported that the assault resulted in civilian casualties, although the exact number is unknown. During the attack, armed groups set houses on fire, causing widespread panic in the community.
A bus driver was attacked and shot by gunmen while on duty, Lazarre added.
This incident occurred just days after hundreds of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti to assist in combating the country’s pervasive gang violence.
Social media videos captured the chaos, showing armed men storming the police station, expressing anger towards the Haitian government and the Kenyan police officers, and setting fires that mostly destroyed the station.
In a similar incident in May, civilians and police officers called for the dismissal and arrest of the police chief as heavily armed gangs took over the same station in Gressier. That attack also caused widespread panic and left many homeless as gangs rampaged through the area.
