Heavily armed gangs in Haiti have attacked a neighborhood – a home to most of the country’s elite.
The attack has left at least 40 dead.
According to Mayor Jean Massillon, the affluent Kenscoff neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince has been under attack since January 27 with gunmen going home to home and indiscriminately opening fire on civilians.
He blamed the attack on the violent Viv Ansanm gang coalition, which controls much of the Haitian capital.
‘As we speak, they have surrounded the area,’ Massillon said as he called for reinforcements.
The dead include pastors, teachers and children, although the number is expected to be higher because authorities haven’t been able to reach certain parts of the neighborhood, which is also home to many politicians and business leaders.
Many victims are working-class people who tend crops on the outskirts of the neighborhood in the foothills of a mountain range.
Gangs already control 85% of Port-au-Prince, and the United Nations secretary-general warned last month they could soon overrun the capital.
The assault on Kenscoff occurred days after the government and police warned about imminent attacks in the Haitian city, but the warnings did not say where they might occur.
Jean Bertho Valmo, a 45-year-old farmer who fled Kenscoff, told the Associated Press that 12 members of one family were among the dead.
He said he woke to another round of gunfire before dawn Monday. He and his family sought shelter in the yard of the mayor’s office along with dozens of others.
The attack on Kenscoff that began eight days ago has left more than 1,660 people homeless, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday.
