Dozens killed in Haiti’s capital following internal clashes within a powerful gang coalition

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Dozens of people in Haiti’s capital have been killed following violent clashes within a powerful gang coalition, with 10 children among the victims, a local human rights group said Tuesday.

Among those killed was Dèdè, one of the highest ranking gang members in the Bel-Air slum of Port-au-Prince. He was beheaded, while powerful gang leader Kempès Sanon, a former police officer, was injured, according to the Committee for Peace and Development.

It wasn’t immediately clear how seriously Sanon was injured, although many worry the clashes that began in recent days could unleash even more violence in a city already 90% controlled by gangs.

Sanon has been replaced while receiving treatment for his injuries by two men who go by the names of Jamesly and Ti Gason, according to the human rights group.

The ongoing violence is unusual because a large number of gangs banded together in September 2023 and announced the formation of Viv Ansanm, or “Live Together,” a coalition that led to a drop in violence after armed groups agreed to no longer fight each other.

Sanon and his gang are part of the Viv Ansanm coalition, which the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

So far, the human rights group has counted at least 49 people killed, burned and mutilated since Monday. Among them are 19 gang members, 10 children recruited by gangs and a man in his 60s who was struck by a stray bullet.

Nineteen women whose partners were gang members also were killed by the Krache Dife gang as they sought medical attention for the men at a clinic, the group said.

Krache Dife, which means “Spit Fire,” is believed to be an ally of Sanon and a member of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.

The number of people killed is expected to rise since the clashes are ongoing and no authorities or human rights groups have been able to access the area.

After the outbreak, Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer best known as Barbecue and one of the leaders of Viv Ansanm, published a video surrounded by several people he claimed had been kidnapped and were released in Bel-Air by him.

Chérizier said Viv Ansanm had demanded that all kidnappings stop, but that some members refused to do so.

“They won’t be kidnapping ever again. … This is a message for all the generals,” he said, referring to members of Viv Ansanm.

Chérizier did not provide additional details in the video, nor did he reference any members by name.

In a recent report, the United Nations noted that Sanon, the injured gang leader, “has played a significant role in consolidating gang power in Port-au-Prince, particularly through his involvement in the Viv Ansanm alliance, which has launched coordinated attacks to expand gang-controlled territories.”

“Sanon also maintains a network of individuals within governmental institutions, including security agencies, which enables him to evade arrest and facilitate his criminal activities,” the U.N. report said.

Hundreds of civilians are sheltering in place as the fighting continues, with concern growing about their ability to obtain food and other basic goods.

Hunger was already surging in Haiti’s slums and beyond, with more than half of the country’s nearly 12 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse.

The latest violence is also expected to further destabilize Haiti as it prepares for general elections next year, with the country’s transitional government supposed to step down in early February.