At least 47 people killed in violent weekend attacks in Haiti, UN says
Attacks occurred late Sunday, mayor of Kenscoff area says
At least 47 people were killed and 22 more injured in an overnight gang raid on a neighbourhood overlooking Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, the UN said on Monday, prompting anger over the lack of protection from repeated deadly attacks.
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UN → kill → attacks
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said estimates could still change.
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estimates → say → Haiti
Jean Massillon, the mayor of Kenscoff, said armed men raided the community late on Sunday, setting fire to homes and killing residents.
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men → say → residents
The hillside community overlooking routes into the capital has suffered a dozen attacks by armed gangs since last year, forcing thousands to flee their homes.
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community → overlook → homes
Powerful gangs under a broad alliance have for years cemented their influence over Haiti's capital and expanded to nearby regions, despite attempts by foreign nations to reinforce the country's outgunned police.
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gangs → cement → police
Even as Haiti's government decried a "heinous attack" and promised to reinforce security, residents demanded the local police chief step down, saying officers failed to protect people killed just minutes from the police station.
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officers → decry → station
"Kenscoff will not be abandoned," the prime minister's office said on social media.
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office → abandon → media
"The government's authority will be restored, without weakness and without delay."
'They sowed chaos'
Wails filled the air in Kenscoff as survivors found the bodies of friends and family strewn on the streets early Monday.
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survivors → restore → streets
"They killed my son!" one woman kept yelling as people nearby tried to comfort her.
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people → kill → her
One man flung himself on the side of the road, head on his right arm as he cried on the ground.
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he → fling → ground
Nearby, people picked up the bodies of those killed, some wrapped in blood-spattered sheets.
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some → pick → sheets
Robert Jean recalled how he heard shooting before dawn and tried to rustle people from their sleep to escape being killed.
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he → recall → sleep
He said he was frantically looking for his brother, who was killed: "I was calling to see if everyone was safe.
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everyone → say → brother
I could not find my brother."
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I → find → brother
Another Kenscoff resident blamed the government for the killings.
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resident → blame → killings
"If only we had a good police force that would have placed an armoured truck here, what happened here would been prevented," said Verti Enold-Saint as he lifted a sheet over the body of his brother-in-law.
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he → have → law
Mathurin Pierre, 41, a farmer, told The Associated Press he lost 14 loved ones and that an unknown number remain missing.
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number → tell → ones
Massillon blamed the attack on members of Viv Ansanm, which the U.S. government designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year.
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government → blame → organization
"They sowed chaos," Massillon said.
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Massillon → sow → chaos
He said gang members targeted a church and homes, including those owned by Dr. Jean (Bill) Pape.
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members → say → Pape
He is a renowned doctor who runs a non-governmental organization in Haiti that helps patients, including those with HIV and tuberculosis.
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that → run → HIV
Gangs control an estimated 70 per cent of Port-au-Prince, the capital, with Viv Ansanm repeatedly targeting nearby Kenscoff.
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Ansanm → control → Kenscoff
Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,189 injured, according to UN statistics.
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1,189 → displace → statistics
WATCH | Ottawa urged to protect Haitian refugees fearing deportation to U.S.:
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Ottawa → watch → U.S.
The attack comes less than a week after the U.S. government deported more than 160 people to the troubled Caribbean country for the first time since the Trump administration won a legal battle to end temporary protected status (TPS) for some 350,000 Haitians.
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administration → come → Haitians
Haiti's government has said some of the deportees included TPS holders working legally in the U.S. and even some who were Haitian in origin but not born in Haiti.
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who → say → Haiti
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to the AP on Monday that those deported on Friday included several gang members with criminal records ranging from assault to drug trafficking.
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those → say → trafficking
Haiti is scheduled to hold general elections for the first time in more than a decade on Dec. 13, and it has been registering voters in Port-au-Prince and beyond.
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it → schedule → Prince
Experts have warned it's currently too dangerous to hold elections.
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it → warn → elections
The Aporia
