HAITI: At least a dozen alleged criminals were beaten to death and set afire in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, adding to the country’s humanitarian crisis. Onlookers stacked tyres on top of them, doused them in fuel, and set them ablaze.
A lynch mob took the victims from the police, stoned and beat them before setting their bodies on fire. They were held in the Canapé-Vert suburb of Port-au-Prince.
Haiti’s national police said they had stopped a group of suspected smugglers travelling in a minibus, but more than 12 of them had been lynched by members of the population. A video showed the firearms and AK47 magazines found with the victims.
The lynching occurred during gang fights in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince’s largest shantytown, killing nearly 70 people, many of whom were shot or stabbed. The UN Security Council is scheduled to examine the crisis on Tuesday.
The UN requested the sending of an international “specialised support force” to Haiti after more than 530 people lost their lives in the first few weeks of this year, forcing many clinics and schools to close.
The UN human rights office recorded 531 murders, 300 injuries, and 277 kidnappings between January and March, mostly in the gang-dominated capital of Haiti.
The Duvalier dynasty’s corrupt rule and natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake, have caused Haiti’s desperate situation. Since Jovenel Mose passed away in 2021, gangs have taken control of 60% of the capital, some police officers have revolted, and internal politics have devolved into a bloody standoff.
Former Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been in charge of the nation since Mose’s murder, and a new presidential election is not expected until over seven years after November 2016.
Jonathan Powell, a British diplomat who was instrumental in the 1998 Good Friday deal, is said to be taking part in efforts to end the political impasse in Haiti. Jake Johnston, author of Aid State in Haiti, said there is little hope for a quick fix due to the deep roots of the issues.
In addition, Johnston noted that the government had mostly retreated and abdicated its responsibility. “You have this sort of paralysis that has overtaken everything,” he continued. “So, things are getting worse.”
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