PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A powerful gang coalition has launched new attacks on Haiti’s capital, driving dozens of families from homes as police vowed Wednesday to hold the gunmen back.
Authorities evacuated students at a Catholic school in western Port-au-Prince as heavy gunfire continued in the area near the renowned Oloffson Hotel, which once attracted international celebrities in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Meanwhile, cries for help emerged on social media for a group of priests trapped inside a church in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood, which endured much of the attack by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition that began late Tuesday.
“They’re trying to take more areas, but police are there, making sure that doesn’t happen,” Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told a press conference.
He said police have new plans to fight gangs that already control 85% of Haiti’s capital, but declined to provide details, citing safety reasons.
