Police Battle Gangs Attempting to Seize Haitian Capital
NewsweekNOV 2024
The cruelty and anarchy in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, are unparalleled. Violent gangs has taken control over several more districts in the city, and the violence is now spreading to the more affluent suburban areas. On Tuesday, the police, backed by civilians who formed local resistance groups, twarted a deadly gang assault with the intention of seizing control of outlying districts. The people have demonstrated incredible determination not to give the armed groups an additional foothold.
Just days after the inauguration of Prime Minister Fils-Aimé ́s new government, the violence has escalated out of control. Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, the gang leader, is on the offensive, and armed thugs have driven away 20K new people from their homes in just a week. The humanitarian crisis, which already resulted in over 700K people being internally displaced, is rapidly intensifying, as it has become too dangerous for NGOs to deliver food and medicine to those in need. There is no end to anarchy. Clearly, there isn't enough police around to provide security and restore order. Haiti needs outside help. The world community must act now.
There is a 69% chance Haiti will experience a successful coup d'etat before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.