SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Most of Haiti on Tuesday was celebrating the anniversary of a historic battle that helped the country become the world’s first Black republic, but a town that was key in that struggle was busy fighting for its life.
Residents in the once peaceful coastal town of Arcahaie, the birthplace of Haiti’s flag, joined forces with police on Tuesday to push back heavily armed gangs trying to seize control of their community.
“We are holding them off for the moment,” Mayor Jean Edner Gilles told The Associated Press by phone.
One police officer was shot in the head and killed during the attack that began Monday and is ongoing, with Haiti’s National Police blaming what it called “terrorist gangs.”
Gilles said many people have been injured, but he was unable to provide a figure because police had not yet compiled a report.
“My message to my brothers and sisters in the community is to remain vigilant like true fighters, and as for the gangs, their days are numbered if they want to continue to penetrate our community,” he said.
It is the latest attack in a region north of Haiti’s capital where gangs are expanding their power as an understaffed and under-resourced police department struggles to fight back.
In September, gangs killed at least 42 people in Labodrie, just south of Arcahaie. The victims included a 4-year-old child and his family.
Overall, more than 1,240 people have been killed and 710 others injured across Haiti from July to September as gangs continue to clash with police and self-defense groups, according to a U.N. report released last week.
Nearly 20% of those incidents occurred in the central department of Artibonite, where gangs are making inroads.
“The situation remains extremely volatile,” the report stated.
A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police is trying to help Haitian authorities quell gang violence, but it remains underfunded and understaffed.
In late September, the U.N. Security Council approved the creation of a gang-suppression force that would have the power to arrest suspected gang members, but it has yet to be deployed.
Laurent Saint-Cyr, leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, condemned those who are pillaging and burning Haiti during a speech on Tuesday to celebrate the 222nd anniversary of the Battle of Vertières.
“It’s a moment for us to take a little time to look at ourselves in the mirror and make a clear commitment to honor the great chain of sacrifices our ancestors made for us,” he said as he pledged to prioritize the country’s security and stability.
The celebration of the historic battle comes a day after life in Port-au-Prince came to a halt following a warning by a powerful gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that asked people to stay off the streets of Haiti’s capital so it could fight the police.
No major gang attacks were reported; instead, Haitian police celebrated offensive attacks in certain gang-controlled areas of Port-au-Prince: “Criminal strongholds destroyed, bandits neutralized. No police casualties. The struggle for security continues.”
By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press
