Life in the ravaged capital of Haiti has become a hellish trial with dead bodies appearing every day, it has been reported.
Port-au-Prince has become akin to a warzone in recent weeks, as gang violence erupts leaving locals forced to buy barricades to protect their communities. Speaking to AP, immigration officer Noune-Carme Manoune said: “Every day I wake up and find a dead body."
Those who have money are stockpiling basics like water and medicine, while known gang-controlled areas have become places locals avoid. The need to stockpile has risen from aspects of the city having ground to a standstill, including the arrival of goods after the seaports fell victim to attacks from gangs.
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In a statement, Philippe Branchat, International Organization for Migration chief in Haiti said: “People living in the capital are locked in, they have nowhere to go,” adding, “the capital is surrounded by armed groups and danger. It is a city under siege.”
Stories have emerged noting how innocent people minding their business at home have been hit and killed by stray bullets – one man is said to have been at home playing with his daughter when he died.
Reports have noted that supermarkets have been forced to protect themselves with so many armed guards they look not like shops but police stations.
Meanwhile, people have been barred by the banks from withdrawing more than $100 (£80) a day. Cops are being forced to wait to get paid and petrol prices are roughly triple their market value.
At the time of writing, gangs are reported by the same news agency to be in control of around 80% of the city.
On February 29, the unrest skyrocketed when those gangs launched a coordinated attack on many elements of the city’s infrastructure, burning police stations and opening fire at the airport.
They also carried out a mass jailbreak of two of the biggest prisons in the city, leading to around 4,000 prisoners busting out.
Meanwhile, citizens have hit back forming a vigilante movement called bwa kale, reportedly claiming the lives of hundreds of gang members and associates.
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