Haiti Gang Violence: Residents Flee as Central City Under Siege

⁢ ‍ ‍ ⁢ Petite ⁤Rivière, Haiti —‍ Desperate residents are fleeing a city in Haiti’s central Artibonite region, ⁣crossing the ‍Artibonite River to ⁤escape escalating gang violence.The city has been under siege for nearly a week following a renewed assault by armed groups.
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Gangs Launch New Attack

⁢ The assault on ⁢Petite Rivière⁤ began before dawn Wednesday,according to Bertide ⁤Horace,a spokesman for ⁤the‍ Commission for Dialogue,Reconciliation and Consciousness to Save Artibonite,an activist group.
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⁣ ‍ “The gangs are invading⁢ the city everywhere,” Horace⁣ told The Associated Press. ‍”People are ⁣trapped in their homes, ⁢unable to leave, and the gangs⁣ are destroying⁢ everything‍ in their ⁢path.”

⁤ ⁣ ⁤ Videos circulating on social media show residents carrying belongings, wading or swimming across the artibonite river.Some residents paid for transport on the few available boats.
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⁤‍ ‍ Horace identified the Gran Grif gang as the primary aggressor in the ⁤ongoing attack, with reinforcements provided by⁤ the ⁢viv Ansanm coalition of gangs.
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⁢ ⁣ Armed men first attacked‍ Petite ⁤Rivière ⁣on April 24, seizing control of the city’s northern region, Horace said.

⁣ ⁣ “The police continue to fight, but ⁤the gangs have already taken control of‍ a meaningful ⁢portion of the city,” ‍Horace stated.He added that several ⁢people,⁤ including ⁣an 11-year-old ‍boy, have been killed.
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Artibonite Region ⁢Under ⁤Pressure

Gran Grif is the largest⁢ gang operating in ⁣the Artibonite region. The gang was blamed ‍for an attack ‍in Pont-Sondé in October 2024,where more than 70 people died in what is considered one of Haiti’s ‍worst ⁤massacres in recent history.
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⁣ according to‍ a U.N.report, the