PORT-AU-PRINCE - Dozens of people swam and waded across Haiti’s longest river on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to flee gangs that launched a fresh attack on a city in the country’s central region that has been under siege for almost a week.
The onslaught in rural areas of Petite Rivière began before dawn, according to Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite, an activist group.
“Gangs are invading the city everywhere,” she told The Associated Press by phone. “There are people trapped in their homes who can’t leave, and the guys are setting fire wherever they go.” Videos posted on social media showed people balancing their belongings on their head or holding them aloft as they crossed the Artibonite River. A couple of boats ferried the few who could afford one. Horace blamed the Gran Grif gang for the ongoing attack, adding that the Viv Ansanm gang coalition was providing reinforcements. Gunmen first attacked Petite Rivière on April 24, and they have seized full control of the town’s northern region, she said. “The police are still fighting, but they have already taken control of a good part of the city,” Horace said. Several people have been killed, including an 11-year-old child, Horace said. (Jamaica Gleaner)
