Heavily armed gangs have attempted to take control of Haiti’s main airport after 4,000 inmates escaped from prison and began “massacring people indiscriminately.”
Shocking videos have emerged of men and women fleeing in terror as gunshots are heard at Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
It marks a new escalation in violence that erupted when a top gang leader pushed to overthrow the prime minister, and gangs stormed public buildings and the National Penitentiary, freeing some 4,000 inmates.
The resulting chaos has forced more than 15,000 people to flee their homes, many of which have been destroyed, leaving them living in camps.
One of the men who remained in prison after the mass escape, Francisco Uribe, asked for help and said: “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells.”
Shocking images showed civilians fleeing gunfire as authorities clashed with armed gangs.
Pedestrians pass by a soldier guarding the area of the attacked international airport in Port-au-Prince
Soldiers guard the international airport.
The airport attacks mark a dramatic rise in gang violence in the country, with groups exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers in the latest attack on key government sites.
The gangs’ goal is to prevent Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to Haiti, from where he is believed to be abroad.
The gangs are led by Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now heads the gang federation. He has claimed responsibility for the increase in attacks.
He said his goal is to capture the police chief and Haitian government ministers and prevent Henry’s return. Control of the airport is key to his plan.
Toussaint Louverture International Airport was closed when the attack occurred, with no planes operating or passengers on site.
Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that flights have been suspended for the past few days due to the violence.
Associated Press journalists saw an armored truck on the tarmac firing at gangs to try to prevent them from entering the airport grounds while dozens of employees and other workers fled from the bullets.
It is the largest airport attack in Haiti’s history.
Last week, the airport was briefly hit by bullets amid continued gang attacks, but the gangs did not enter or take control of the airport.
The attack occurred just hours after Haitian authorities ordered a nighttime curfew following violence in which armed gang members invaded the two largest prisons and freed thousands of inmates over the weekend.
The 72-hour state of emergency began on Sunday night.
Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherisier and his men are seen in Port-au-Prince, Barbecue leading the attacks on the airport.
Masked members of the “G9 and Family” gang who are part of the recent attacks
The government said it would try to locate escaped inmates, including from a penitentiary where the vast majority were being held in pretrial detention, some of them accused of murders, kidnappings and other crimes.
“The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and arrest all violators,” Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, acting prime minister, said in a statement.
It was estimated that the gangs already controlled up to 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They are increasingly coordinating their actions and choosing previously unthinkable targets, such as the Central Bank.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled abroad last week to try to win back support for a United Nations-backed security force to help stabilize Haiti in its conflict with increasingly powerful criminal groups.
The Haitian National Police has approximately 9,000 officers to provide security to more than 11 million people, according to the UN. They are usually overwhelmed and outgunned.
Riots broke out after gang leaders attempted to overthrow Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
At least nine people have died since Thursday in violence
Gangs have coordinated attacks against key government infrastructure
The deadly weekend marked a new low in the downward spiral of violence in Haiti. At least nine people had been killed since Thursday, four of them police officers, when gangs stepped up coordinated attacks on state institutions in Port-au-Prince, including the national soccer stadium.
But the attack on the National Penitentiary on Saturday night shocked Haitians who are accustomed to living under the constant threat of violence.
Almost all of the approximately 4,000 inmates escaped. Three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the entrance to the prison on Sunday.
A second prison in Port-au-Prince housing some 1,400 inmates was also invaded.
Shots were reported in several neighborhoods of the capital. Internet service for many residents was down as Haiti’s main mobile network said a cable connection was cut during the uproar.
After gangs opened fire at Haiti’s international airport last week, the U.S. Embassy said it was suspending all official travel to the country. On Sunday night, he urged all American citizens to leave as soon as possible.
Families have been forced to move to camps with few or no belongings as a result of the violence.
An estimated 15,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the escalation of violence.
An inmate stands at the National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sunday.
The Biden administration, which has refused to send troops to any multinational force for Haiti while offering money and logistical support, said it was following with grave concern the rapidly deteriorating security situation.
The rise in attacks follows violent protests that became more deadly in recent days as the prime minister traveled to Kenya to advance a proposed U.N.-backed security mission that would be led by the East African country.
The prime minister, a neurosurgeon, ignored calls for him to resign and did not comment when asked if he felt it was safe to return home.