Monday the situation remained tense in Cité Soleil, where armed gangs have been fighting for several weeks. According to Isaïe Bochard, one of the interim agents of Cité Soleil, the increase in armed clashes last week would have made at least 8 dead and more than a dozen injured, stock unconfirmed by the National Police of Haiti (PNH).

For its part, the Defense National Network of Human Rights (RNDDH), estimates that since 2013, the clashes between gangs, made more than 200 victims, including 50 in the 4th quarter 2014, noting that since the beginning of the year, the situation seems to be beyond the control of the authorities.

The Mayor of the commune of Cité Soleil, Reynald Joli Fils, has indicated that the socio-economic activities are strongly disturbed, especially in the neighborhoods of Belecourt, Boston and Brooklyn where informal trade and schools do not work, noting that shots and bursts of automatic weapons, are heard frequently, especially in Simon and Pelé.

For the mayor, the police do not have sufficient resources and personnel to defeat these criminals and calls for a joint intervention PNH-MINUSTAH, to restore calm in the city and dismantle the armed groups that spread terror and mourning in the population.

The Divisional Commissioner Vladimir Parison, Western Departmental Director of the PNH, who believes that the upcoming elections approach is not foreign to this renewed violence, suggested that a plan was being considered with MINUSTAH, to address the problem.

Recalling that such armed bands had a powerful strike force, he stated that their capacity did not exceed that of the police, who are in a position to respond. He rejects the criticism of inability to act or understaffed of the Police, noting that the police can not intervene anyhow in these densely populated areas, in order to avoid collateral damage in the population, the police duty is to protect.

Pending the intervention of the authorities, Cité Soleil population is being held hostage by these gangs fighting to have control of the country's largest slum...

SL/ HaitiLibre