After being rescued from police custody during a traffic stop, a mob in the Haitian capital allegedly battered and burned to death 13 suspected gang members with gasoline-soaked tires on Monday, April 24.
According to AP News, the horrible vigilante violence highlighted prevalent fury over the increasingly chaotic situation in Port-au-Prince, where criminal gangs have gained control of an estimated 60% of the city since the death of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
In a Gang-Related Attack
Later on Monday, six additional burned remains were discovered in a neighboring area, with some witnesses claiming that police murdered them and locals set them on fire. However, AP News was unable to independently corroborate these allegations.
In a short statement, the Haiti National Police claimed that early on Monday, officers in the Canape Vert district of the city had stopped and searched a minibus for contraband. It had taken firearms from suspects before they were "unfortunately lynched by members of the population."
It was unclear from the statement how the crowd managed to subdue the criminals.
A witness named Edner Samuel told the AP News that the mob dragged the suspects away from the police and beat and stoned them. Then, the suspects allegedly piled tires on top of the victims, poured gasoline over them, and set them on fire.
On the scene, an AP reporter spotted 13 corpses in flames on the roadway.
Hundreds of people gathered in the hillside city suburb to watch the flames. Many of them covered their faces to protect themselves from the smoke. As of yet, criminal groups have been unable to take over the Canape Vert area.
Samuel said the suspects were presumably on their way to join other gang members fighting police somewhere.
Escalating Violence
Since the murder of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, Haiti has slid into growing chaos.
In a report released by the UN on Monday, the capital's degree of insecurity is now on par with that level of countries at war. "The people of Haiti continue to suffer one of the worst human rights crises in decades and a major humanitarian emergency," the study states, according to BBC.
It also noted that armed gangs are still competing for territory and that conflicts between gangs and the police have become more frequent and violent, resulting in several civilian deaths.
BBC reported that, as per UN estimates, between April 14 and 19, gang violence claimed the lives of approximately 70 individuals, including 18 women and two children. Due to the violence, numerous businesses and public facilities have closed, including schools and hospitals.
Ariel Henry, the prime minister of the Caribbean country after Mose's killing, has been reportedly unable to control the gangs.
