PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti –
Multiple gangs attacked several communities in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Friday, setting fire to homes and a church as bullets whizzed through the area.
At least one woman was killed as gangs opened fire in Solino, St. Michel, Tabarre 27 and other neighbourhoods, with panicked residents calling radio stations since late Thursday pleading for help.
A police union also called for help Thursday on X, saying it had information that multiple gunmen were preparing to invade Solino.
“Immediate action is required!” it wrote.
A spokesman for Haiti’s National Police did not immediately respond to a message for comment.
Radio Télé Métronome reported that the swearing in of Haiti’s provisional electoral council scheduled for Friday in downtown Port-au-Prince was moved to a safer area.
It was not clear what prompted the latest attack, which comes just days after Haitian and Kenyan police leading a UN-backed mission to crack down on gang violence killed at least 20 suspected gang members in an area controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang that operates mainly in Tabarre.
Gangs control 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince, although communities like Solino have been fighting attempts by gunmen to control it.