SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dozens of people in Haiti’s capital have been killed in a clash between a powerful gang coalition and a group of armed men that apparently broke away from it, with 10 children among the victims, a local human rights group said Tuesday.
Among those killed was Dèdè, one of the highest ranking gang members that operates in the Bel-Air slum of Port-au-Prince. He was beheaded, while powerful gang leader Kempes Sanon, a former police officer, was injured, according to the Committee for Peace and Development.
It wasn’t immediately clear how seriously Sanon was injured, although many worry the attack that began in recent days will unleash even more violence in a city already 90% controlled by gangs.
Sanon has been dethroned while receiving treatment for his injuries by two men who go by the names of Jamesly and Ti Gason, according to the human rights group.
The ongoing attack is unusual because a large number of gangs banded together in September 2023 and announced the formation of Viv Ansanm, or “Live Together,” a coalition that led to a drop in violence since armed groups agreed to no longer fight each other.
Before the attack, Sanon and his gang were part of the Viv Ansanm coalition, which the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
So far, the human rights group has counted at least 49 people killed, burned and mutilated since Monday. Among those are 19 gang members, 10 children recruited by gangs and a man in his 60s who was struck by a stray bullet.
Nineteen women whose partners were gang members also were executed by the Krache Dife gang as they sought medical attention for the men at a clinic, the group said.
Krache Dife, which means “Spit Fire,” is believed to still be an ally of Sanon and a member of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.
The number of people killed is expected to rise since the attack is ongoing and no authorities or human rights groups have been able to access the area.
In a recent report, the United Nations noted that Sanon, the injured gang leader, “has played a significant role in consolidating gang power in Port-au-Prince, particularly through his involvement in the Viv Ansanm alliance, which has launched coordinated attacks to expand gang-controlled territories.”
“Sanon also maintains a network of individuals within governmental institutions, including security agencies, which enables him to evade arrest and facilitate his criminal activities,” the U.N. report stated.
Hundreds of civilians are sheltering in place as the attack continues, with concern growing about their ability to obtain food and other basic goods.
Hunger already was surging in Haiti’s slums and beyond before the attack, with more than half of the country’s nearly 12 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse.
The attack also is expected to further destabilize Haiti as it prepares for general elections next year, with the country’s transitional government supposed to step down in early February.
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