PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Gangs trying to seize full control of Haiti have killed at least four soldiers and four armed civilians who worked with law enforcement to protect their communities, an official said Thursday.
Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff, a once peaceful community on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Two other soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians were killed in the community of Pacot inside the capital, he said.
On Wednesday night, the government said that at least four police officers and armed civilians from the community of Canapé-Vert, one of the few neighborhoods not controlled by gangs, were killed in the attacks.
In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies and picking up severed heads as trophies, saying, “We got the dogs.”
Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the prime minister’s office condemned the attacks in separate statements and said that multiple people were injured.
“The government reaffirms that the fight against insecurity remains its top priority,” the office said.
Gangs that control at least 85 percent of Port-au-Prince have launched recent attacks on previously peaceful areas that police and armed residents are trying to protect.
More than 260 people were killed in attacks on Kenscoff and Carrefour earlier this year, according to the UN political mission in Haiti.
Haitian police are working alongside a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police to repel gangs, although they have struggled in their efforts. The mission is underfunded and only has some 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned.
More than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless, according to the UN
Gangs in Haiti kill 4 soldiers and 4 civilians in bid to seize full control of the capital
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Gangs in Haiti kill 4 soldiers and 4 civilians in bid to seize full control of the capital
- Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff
- In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies
Macron vows stronger cooperation with Nigeria after mass kidnappings
- Macron wrote on X that France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations”
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that France will step up cooperation with Nigeria after speaking with his counterpart, as the West African country faces a surge in abductions.
Nigeria has been wracked by a wave of kidnappings in recent weeks, including the capture of over 300 school children two weeks ago that shook Africa’s most populous country, already weary from chronic violence.
Macron wrote on X that the move came at Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s request, saying France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations,” while urging other countries to “step up their engagement.”
“No one can remain a spectator” to what is happening in Nigeria, the French president said.
Nigeria has drawn heightened attention from Washington in recent weeks, after US President Donald Trump said in November that the United States was prepared to take military action there to counter the killing of Christians.
US officials, while not contradicting Trump, have since instead emphasized other US actions on Nigeria including security cooperation with the government and the prospect of targeted sanctions.
Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have plagued Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 school girls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants.
The religiously diverse country is the scene of a number of long-brewing conflicts that have killed both Christians and Muslims, often indiscriminately.
Many scholars say the reality is more nuanced, with conflicts rooted in struggles for scarce resources rather than directly related to religion.
