Thousands protest in Haiti to denounce a surge in gang violence and demand security

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Thousands of protesters clashed with police on Wednesday as they denounced a surge in gang violence and demanded that the government keep them safe.

Some demonstrators brandished machetes while others clutched tree boughs or waved palm fronds as they weaved their way through the streets of Port-au-Prince, where schools, banks and other businesses remained closed.

Flaming tires blocked roads as protesters chanted “Let’s go, let’s go let’s go, and get them out!”

One of the organizers, who covered his face and declined to give his name for fear of reprisal, said the purpose of the protest was to “take over the prime minister’s office and burn down the CPT,” referring to the offices of Haiti’s transitional presidential council.

It is the first major protest to hit the administration of Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, whom the council appointed as prime minister in November.

As protesters gathered outside his office, police fired tear gas and dispersed them, although some refused to run and instead pelted officers with rocks.

Discontent and anger is spreading as gangs that already control 85% of Port-au-Prince pillage once-peaceful communities in a bid to seize control of even more territory.

Recent gang violence has forced more than 60,000 people to flee their homes in one month alone, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.

“We have never observed such large number of people moving in this short time,” said Grégoire Goodstein, the organization’s chief in Haiti.

In a visit to Port-au-Prince in early March, William O’Neill, the U.N. human rights commissioner’s expert on Haiti, described the capital as “an open-air prison.”

“There is no safe way to enter or leave the capital except by helicopter,” he said. “Gangs are invading previously safe neighborhoods, killing, raping and burning houses, businesses, churches and schools.”

Gangs also have pillaged communities beyond Port-au-Prince.

On Monday, they attacked the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti. They stormed a prison, releasing more than 500 inmates as hundreds of residents fled their homes.

A recent U.N. report found that more than 4,200 people were reported killed across Haiti from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured.

O’Neill has called on the international community to do more to support a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that is helping Haitian officers quell gang violence.

However, the mission only has about 40% of the 2,500 personnel envisioned and has struggled to hold back gangs.

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Associated Press reporter Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico contributed.

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