On Wednesday a partial mutiny of the 550 detainees broke out in Hinche prison. A group of detainees disarmed and took two National Penitentiary Administration agents under hostage while other prisoners tried to get out of their cells in the hope of escaping

Despite the intervention of the Agents of the Departmental Unit of Maintenance of Order (UDMO), the situation remained tense for several hours, confirmed Prospère Accilaire, the Director of the prison on the air of a radio of the capital which noted that several detainees were trying to escape. Security forces surrounded the building to prevent the escapes.

Regaining control has been difficult due to sporadic shootings between detainees and the police and the presence of the two hostages in the hands of the mutineers.

The resistance of the detainees has clearly weakened with the use of tear gas canisters.

At the end of the day, Jean-Michelet Choute, the Divisional Commissioner, said that no detainee had managed to escape and that the detainees were in their cells. He also confirmed that the two prison officers were still in the hands of a small group of mutineers but that he was confident about the outcome of this hostage-taking, recalling that prison officers were trained in this kind of situation.

HL/ HaitiLibre