The Police National Haitian (PNH) said this Wednesday that it killed 16 members of the cluster armed “Gran Grif Base”, accused of being responsible for the massacre of nearly 150 people in two massacres that occurred in October and at the beginning of this December.
According to the Policethe men died in a exchange of shots with law enforcement officers during operations carried out in one of the strongholds of the Gran Grif Base in the town of Palmiste, in the central region of Artibonite.
The Police National “intensifies its efforts to restore the order and the security in said department,” the institution said in a note published on its Facebook page, where it reiterated its “determination” to “disrupt the armed gangs to allow the population to carry out their activities.”
At the same time, he assured that “he is intensifying his operations and interventions aimed at dismantling armed gangs throughout the national territory, particularly in the department of Artibonite, where significant progress is being made in the fight against organized crime.
He cluster armed Gran Grif Base is accused of being responsible for the massacre of more than 115 people in an attack armed in Pont Sonde, in the department of Artibonite, at the beginning of October, and between the 10th and 11th of this month he perpetrated a new massacre that left more than twenty dead in the communal section of Petite Riviere, in Artibonite.
Criminal groups control more than 80% of the capital and their surroundingswhile the Police and the UN stabilization mission lack the necessary means to restore the order and the security.
80%
It is the space in the Haitian capital that the gangs control, according to the country’s authorities.
They will protect hospitals
After yesterday Jimmy Chérizier’s gang, alias Barbecue, set fire to the hospital Bernard Mevs, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé gave instructions “for the implementation of immediate and firm measures consisting of a permanent presence” of the Police to prevent similar acts.
Furthermore, the Government plan to assign resources additional so that the hospital continue with your mission.
This act “will aggravate the difficult situation that the system sanitarywhere several hospitals public and private have decided to close their doors,” declared, for his part, the Minister of Health, Duckenson Lorthé Blema.
The minister highlighted that the Government and his Ministry are “providing all their support to the staff of the hospital“.
The Health Ministry “is not going to back down in its desire to provide attention to the entire population and continue opening all hospitals closed. He hospital is an apolitical public good,” he added, saying that when a hospital is closed, “we are hurting ourselves.”
In the same line, the hospital Zanmi Lasanté expressed his solidarity with the HBM and its staff “in these painful moments.”
“For years, he said, the Hospital Bernard Mevs “has been a pillar of the community, providing vital care and saving countless lives,” he noted in a statement.
The hospitals “must continue to be shrines of attention and hope, and never goals of violence. This attack is an attack not only on an institution, but on the fundamental right of access to information. attention medical“he noted.
In that sense, he called “for the protection of this infrastructure vital to preserve the dignity and the health of everyone.”
Since February, dozens of hospitals, centers of health and pharmacies have been vandalized and set on fire by members of the Vivre Ensemble coalition led by former police officer Jimmy Cherisier, alias ‘Barbecue’.
Last Sunday agents of the Police National of Haiti killed in a exchange of shots to Kendy, alias Jeff Mafia, considered number two of the powerful and feared criminal gang led by alias ‘Barbecue’. Last week, more than 200 people were killed in two massacres in this Caribbean nation, the poorest in America and immersed for years in a serious crisis that affected practically all sectors.
The attack and subsequent fire at the Bernard Mevs (HBM) hospital in Port-au-Prince by members of the armed coalition Vivre Ensemble (Living Together) has caused outrage and consternation in Haiti, a country where health is a luxury for the vast majority. majority of the population.
The attack was confirmed by the HBM on its Facebook account, in which it declared itself “shocked” by what happened on the night of December 16 to 17.
Throughout its existence, this center serves the local population of Port-au-Prince “without prejudice” and “many people owe their lives to the doctors and nurses who treated them with compassion and expertise, regardless of their origin,” he added.
In earthquakes, riots, hurricanes and Covid-19, “the hospital’s medical and administrative team treated people in extraordinary and extreme circumstances with care and compassion and used their experience to save lives,” the center added on the social network.
Known for having the best diagnostic imaging technologies in the country and named after a member of a wealthy Haitian business family, Bernard Maevs Hospital is one of the few facilities open to the public, but financed with private funds.
For its part, the Haitian Government said that it condemns with “the greatest firmness the indescribable armed attack” perpetrated against the Bernard Mevs hospital, located in Village Solidarité, on the road that leads to the airport in the Haitian capital.
“This act of violence, directed at a vital establishment for the population, constitutes a serious attack on human dignity, national security and the fundamental right to health,” he said in a note.
Due to the power of the gangs, thousands of Haitians have left the capital.
Charter Flight departs from Port-au-Prince airport
The government of Haiti announced yesterday the takeoff of the first Flight from Toussaint Louverture International Airport after a long interruption of just over a month.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the charter Flight, operated by Aeroregional, to Brazil, on December 17, carries the hope of a country that is recovering and marks a key step in the relaunch of economic activities and the restoration of national security.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, firm measures have been taken to protect strategic infrastructure, in particular the airport,” he said.
He argued that this success demonstrates the efforts made to end insecurity and restore Haiti to a place in the community of nations.
Restrictions
The government also reported that it continues its dialogue with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to lift restrictions and increase opportunities for international connectivity.
“The resumption of this Flight embodies the resilience of the Haitian people and the determination of their leaders. The prime minister renews his commitment to guarantee the security of all citizens and definitively neutralize armed gangs,” he said.
The Toussaint Louverture international airport, the country’s main airport, was closed last November after attacks perpetrated by armed gangs against several international airline planes.
