(CNN) — Clashes between armed gangs in Haiti’s Port-au-Prince between February 27 and March 5 left more than 50 people dead and dozens missing, according to Pierre Espérance, executive director of the National Network for the Protection of Human Rights. , in a statement to CNN this Sunday.
The popular neighborhoods of Bel-Air and Pas Delmas in Port-au-Prince are particularly prone to armed clashes, Pierre Esperance told CNN.
Large parts of Port-au-Prince are run by organized criminal gangs, and Haiti has faced widespread gang violence, insecurity and kidnappings in recent months. Anti-government protests have also continued in the Caribbean nation since August 2022, when Haitians protested against gang violence, poverty and inflation.
“This new wave of violence is between the G9 gang and another gang in Bel Air that controls the territory. Civilians are the main victims of all these conflicts. They burned dozens of houses and no end was in sight. Until now, neither the police nor the government have said a word,” Pierre Esperance told CNN.
The G9 is a group of over a dozen Haitian gangs based in Port-au-Prince.
Last October, the Haitian government and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to consider sending troops to address the growing humanitarian and security crises in Haiti.
CNN has reached out to the Haitian National Police and the government for comment.
