At least 7 dead as Haiti gang opens fire on protesters

By Andrea Rego

At least 7 people lost their lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city, when a gang opened fire on them with machine guns during a protest on August 26.

The shooting occurred in the northern suburban Canaan, a town on the outskirts of the city, where around 100 parishioners had gathered to march in protest against spiralling gang violence.

Several authorities and human rights groups examined the aftermath of the shooting, presuming that the death toll could increase because of the large concentration of people at the demonstration.

Haitians participate in protest against gang violence

The fateful incident

The Centre of Analysis and Research in Human Rights, or CARDH, a human rights organization in Haiti said that the gang opened fire on protesters led by an evangelical church leader, Pastor Marco.

The people from the local Church were seen marching, wearing yellow shirts associated with the religious group of Pastor Marco and some were carrying sticks and machetes as they yelled “Free Canaan!”

Unverified videos on social media show people being shot at and bodies lying on the streets of Canaan. Videos were also captured in real time by journalists who were present on the scene.

In the videos, several people who appear to be hostages say “they had no idea that the march was organized to take on the gang”, they thought it was a “peaceful march”.

Gédéon Jean, the executive director of CARDH said the “shooting is symptomatic of the state’s inability to protect its citizens.” Stating that the police should have stopped the protestors from endangering themselves, he said, “It’s extremely horrible for the state to let something like this happen.”

Watching the violence unfold, the executive director planned to ask for the intervention of the Ministry of Justice.

People take a wounded woman to a hospital

Gang violence in Haiti

The protesters were believed to have been demonstrating against “5 seconds”, a powerful gang which controls the areas in and around Port-au-Prince.

Canaan is controlled by a man known as “Jeff”, who is an ally of the gang. The gangs have become more powerful in Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. They are estimated to control up to 80 percent of the capital.

Now, Haitians have joined civilian self-defence groups known as “Bwa Kale”, a movement that has inspired hope but has also sparked retaliation against civilians.