Saturday, a demonstration by several thousand people opposing the government's budget and demanding the departure of the Head of State (Fanmi Lavalas, Pitit Desalin, popular organizations and students) degenerated into violence when the demonstrators arrived in Pétion-ville.

Despite the presence of agents of the Body of Intervention and Maintenance of Order (CIMO), individuals broke several storefronts and windshields of several vehicles. Stones and shards of bottles were also thrown at some buildings, unimpressed by the security agents who fired shots in the air. The protesters also erected several barricades, blocking traffic. Sporadic shot was reported in the Juvénat neighborhood. The damage seems considerable...

The police had to use teargas to disperse the crowd of highly motivated demonstrators... Several wounded were reported. Numerous arrests were made but Commissioner Frantz Lerebours, spokesman for the Haitian National Police (PNH), was unable to communicate a report, with operations still in progress.

Some of the demonstrators tried to reach the city center but met with a strong resistance from the CIMOs on the Champ de Mars, which made intensive use of tear gas... causing scenes of panic and causing respiratory inconveniences in many local residents...

The opposition denounces the violence, alleging an infiltration of the peaceful march by men of the power in place, to provoke troubles and accuse the opposition of disorder...

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22261-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22247-haiti-flash-workers-protest-at-least-10-wounded-including-2-per-bullets.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22230-haiti-politics-the-opposition-announces-3-days-of-national-demonstrations.html

SL/ HaitiLibre