PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) 鈥 Gangs in Haiti laid siege to several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early Thursday in one of the biggest attacks since Haiti鈥檚 new prime minister was announced.
The attacks began late Wednesday in neighborhoods including Solino and Delmas 18, 20 and 24 located southwest of the main international airport, which has remained closed for nearly two months .
鈥淭he gangs started burning everything in sight,鈥 said a man called N茅ne, who declined to give his last name out of fear. 鈥淚 was hiding in a corner all night.鈥
He walked with a friend as they carried a dusty red suitcase between them that was stuffed with clothes 鈥 the only thing they could save. The clothes belonged to N茅ne鈥檚 children, whom he had rushed out of Delmas 18 around dawn during a pause in the fighting.
The neighborhoods that once bustled with traffic and pedestrians were like ghost towns shortly after sunrise, with a heavy silence blanketing the area except for the occasional bleating from a lone goat.
An armored police truck patrolled the streets, rolling past charred vehicles and cinderblock walls where someone had scrawled 鈥淰iv Babecue,鈥 a reference in Haitian Creole to .
People whose homes were spared in the attack in Delmas 18 and other nearby communities clutched fans, stoves, mattresses and plastic bags filled with clothes as they fled by foot, motorcycle or on colorful small buses known as tap-taps. Others were walking empty-handed, having lost everything.
鈥淭here were gunshots left and right,鈥 said Paul Pierre, 47, who was walking with his partner in search of shelter after their house was burned down. They couldn鈥檛 save any of their belongings.
He said the overnight fighting separated children from their parents and husbands from their wives as people fled in terror: 鈥淓veryone is just trying to save themselves."
Martineda, a woman who declined to give her last name out of fear, said she was left homeless after armed gunmen torched her home. She fled with her 4-year-old, whom she said tried to run away when the gunfire erupted late Wednesday.
鈥淚 told him, 鈥楧on鈥檛 be scared. This is life in Haiti,鈥欌 she said as she balanced a heavy load of goods on her head including butter that she hoped to sell to make some money and find a new home.
When asked to recount what happened overnight, she said: 鈥淕unfire, gunfire, gunfire everywhere! No one slept. Everyone was running.鈥
The attack occurred in an area controlled by , a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who is leader of a powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies.
He and other gang leaders have been blamed for coordinated attacks that began on Feb. 29 across the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti鈥檚 two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
The attacks eventually and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council whose majority unexpectedly announced a new prime minister on Tuesday: Fritz B茅lizaire, a former sports minister. The move is threatening to fracture the , which was sworn in last week.
As new leaders take charge of the country amid squabbling, Haitians are demanding that they prioritize their safety as gangs remain more powerful and better armed than Haiti鈥檚 春色直播 Police.
More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured from January to March of this year, a more than 50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the U.N.
Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in just one month as gangs that control an estimated 80% of the capital have increasingly been targeting previously peaceful neighborhoods.
Ernest Aubrey recalled how he moved to Delmas 18 a decade ago. Now, he鈥檚 leaving home for the first time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too much. We can鈥檛 resist anymore,鈥 he said of the gangs. 鈥淭hey are taking everything we own.鈥
As he walked with a heavy bag, he spotted an acquaintance leaving in a car and ran toward them to see if he could get a ride.
One of the few people who opted to stay in Delmas 18 was Vanessa Vieux. While she sent her elderly mother to the countryside early Wednesday after the attack, she decided it was best if she didn鈥檛 relinquish her home to gangs. Plus, she has faith in Haiti鈥檚 春色直播 Police.
鈥淚 live next to a police officer,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 not scared.鈥
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