3 Haitian police officers and 2 civilians killed as gangs overrun a central region
The officers were members of a specialized unit known as UDMO, which is largely activated during protests and disturbances.
A video shared on social media show gunmen dragging the bodies of at least two officers near a burning armored vehicle as heavy gunfire fills the air.
SPNH-17, a local police union, said that two 'brave citizens' fighting alongside the slain officers in Artibonite also were killed.
It called on the government to better protect police as it warned they were preparing to revolt.
'The government does not give the police any importance. If they took this seriously, they would have made the means and support available to the police and the military to end the insecurity,' the union said. 'Too many police officers have fallen.'
Haiti's transitional presidential council said that the government was mobilizing all necessary resources to investigate the killings and honor the memory of those slain.
From October 2024 until the end of June, more than 1,000 people were killed, 213 injured and 620 kidnapped in Haiti's Artibonite and Central departments, according to the U.N. human rights office.
A Kenyan-led, U.N.-backed mission is helping Haiti's National Police to quell gang violence, but officers often are overwhelmed by powerful gangs with military-grade weapons. At least two Kenyan officers have been killed this year, both in Artibonite.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
Extremist rebels capture remote but key town in central Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The extremist rebels of al-Shabab seized control of the central Somali town of Mahaas on Sunday after an assault involving explosions and a ground offensive, according to witnesses. Mahaas, in the central region of Hiraan, is located about 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of the federal capital, Mogadishu. The town is a key government outpost and a critical center in the fight against al-Shabab, which for years has been fighting to overthrow the federal government and impose Islamic law.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
As Haiti turns to lethal drones to fight gangs, Canada is among those who are uneasy
Haiti's battle against criminal gangs has leaned into the lethal use of drones this year, with senior officials defending the tactic that some outside parties, including Canada's government, have voiced qualms about. The embattled Caribbean nation has been struggling to expel the powerful armed gangs that senior United Nations officials say have taken "near-total control" of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The gangs' reach extends beyond the capital, though, with violence surging in Haiti's central region, where three police officers and two civilians were slain this week. The Haitian National Police (HNP) is one player in the effort to oust these gangs, and the country is also receiving some support on this front from a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police. But the state has also looked to drones to both conduct surveillance on gangs and to strike them. These strikes, led by a government-created task force and supported by private contractors, have drawn media attention for months — including when a prominent gang leader, Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, said he'd survived a strike involving explosive drones. "The population has had it up to here, and the government cannot just sit and watch," Fritz Alphonse Jean, chair of Haiti's transitional presidential council, told the Financial Times earlier this month, arguing the strikes are needed to defeat the gangs. Yet some observers believe the use of drones to hit back against the gangs falls short of a legal standard for the use of such weapons, even if Haiti faces sustained pressure from those adversaries. "The intentional use of lethal force by law enforcement is legal under international human rights law only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life [when] facing an imminent threat, and as a last resort when other less lethal alternatives — such as capture or non-lethal incapacitation — have been exhausted," William O'Neill, the UN's designated expert on human rights in Haiti, recently told the Economist. Canada has donated drones for non-lethal use That raises questions for Canada, which has provided drones to Haiti — though not of a type designed for lethal use, according to the federal government. "Canada has donated surveillance drones to the Haitian National Police with the intent to help reduce the danger faced by uniformed officers as they conduct patrols," Global Affairs Canada told CBC News in a statement. "None of the drone models that have been provided by Canada were designed or intended for lethal use or load transport." That said, Canada "is concerned by reports of extrajudicial executions, which are a violation of international human rights law, and continues to call on Haiti to respect all domestic and international laws in its efforts to restore security in the country, including in its use of drones." Global Affairs Canada did not clarify if Ottawa definitively knows of cases in which Canadian-provided drones have been used for lethal purposes in Haiti. But it said Haiti had agreed that the equipment provided would not be used "to commit or facilitate any violation of international humanitarian law or international human rights law." Diego Da Rin, a Haiti analyst with the International Crisis Group, a global think-tank, said the HNP needs these tools for surveillance, particularly because gangs are using them for the same purpose. "Several gangs have been using drones to collect intelligence to conduct operations," he said in a telephone interview, noting these gangs are not known to be using strike drones. The Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains, a local human rights group, said in June that it believed the state's drone strikes had killed at least 300 gang members and wounded another 400. CBC News asked the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) whether it has concerns about the lethal use of drones by Haitian forces against gangs within the country. "Regarding the lethal use of force by law enforcement in operations, it should be conducted in respect of human rights and adhere to the principles of necessity, proportionality, and precaution," spokesperson Mathias Gillmann said in an email. Gillmann said a communication channel had been established with the HNP's General Inspectorate "through which documented cases of human rights violations potentially involving police officers are referred for further investigation and the adoption of appropriate administrative and legal measures." Prolonged instability Haiti has faced years of instability following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The country has not had a president since. Ariel Henry, who served as acting prime minister and led Haiti's government after Moïse's assassination, stepped down from his role after gang-driven turmoil erupted while he was outside the country. WATCH | Canada's ambassador to Haiti on surging gang violence: A transitional council took power after Henry's departure. The council appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as prime minister last November. The challenges the government faces in quelling the gangs were on display on Wednesday, as a police union demanded officials do more to protect officers on the ground. "The government does not give the police any importance. If they took this seriously, they would have made the means and support available to the police and the military to end the insecurity," the SPNH-17 union said, in the wake of the killing of the three officers in central Haiti. "Too many police officers have fallen." The transitional presidential council said the government was mobilizing all necessary resources to investigate the killings and honour the memory of those slain.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Haiti sends troops to Mexico for training as gang violence rages on
Haiti has sent 150 soldiers to train in Mexico as the Caribbean country grapples with rampant gang violence. The troops departed Port-au-Prince on Thursday and will spend the next three months on a training course in Mexico. A total of 700 Haitian soldiers will ultimately take part in the program. Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said the initiative is part of a broader roadmap focused on restoring security, revitalizing public institutions and setting up elections. 'It illustrates the government's firm determination to restore republican order, reinstate state authority throughout the country, and ensure the protection of every citizen,' a statement from the government read. Mexico's security forces have had extensive experience battling criminal groups, particularly international drug cartels, though those efforts have failed to significantly reduce violence and homicide rates remain at near record levels. CNN has reached out to Mexico's government for more information on how it would train Haitian troops. In Haiti, gang attacks have left thousands dead and wounded in recent years. Over 80% of the capital city Port-au-Prince has been estimated to be under gang control, and nearly 1.3 million people nationwide are internally displaced because of the violence, the UN says. Haiti has repeatedly sought international help to restore security, to little effect. Last year, it welcomed hundreds of Kenyan police officers from a multinational security support mission (MSS) funded largely by the United States. At least two of the Kenyan officers have been killed and the violence has not abated. Since the MSS arrived, gangs have spread increasingly into rural areas, seizing swathes of territory in the agriculturally critical Artibonite region. Last week, armed attacks in the area uprooted an additional 15,000 people, the UN says.
