PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang stormed a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday and took hundreds of women, children and newborns hostage, according to the medical center’s director who appealed for help on social media.
Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in the sprawling Cite Soleil slum in the capital Port-au-Prince, confirmed the incident in a brief message exchange with The Associated Press. “We are in great difficulty,” he said.
No further details were immediately available, and it was unclear why the attackers may have taken the patient hostage. Ulysse did not respond to further questions seeking comment.
The hospital is considered an oasis and lifeline in a community overrun by gangs that have launched increasingly violent attacks on each other, with civilians living in Cite Soleil routinely raped, beaten or killed.
Another view of the Fontaine Hospital Center in Cite Soleil.REUTERS A family waits to receive medical treatment at the Fontaine Hospital Center.REUTERS
Ulysse identified those responsible as members of the Brooklyn gang, led by Gabriel Jean-Pierre, best known as “Ti Gabriel.” Jean-Pierre is also the head of a powerful gang alliance known as G-Pep, one of two rival alliances in Haiti.
The Brooklyn Gang has about 200 members and controls certain communities within Cite Soleil including Brooklyn. They engage in extortion, confiscation of goods and general violence against civilians, according to a recent UN report.
?After the death of Isca Andrice, the head of the “Belekou” gang, katouch pa stop chante nan komin Site Solèy??ak zón ki sauntuel yo. Ekip ki gen nan têt li « Ti Gabriel » and katye Brooklyn, ap eseye pran controol divers zon ki te anba mwoy Isca. Se ka pou localite « Pièeses,… pic.twitter.com/CL61K1JCM5
— Luckson Saint-Vil Reporter (@LuckNews88) November 15, 2023
“The G-Pep coalition and its allies strengthened their cooperation and diversified their output, particularly by carrying out kidnapping for ransom, which allowed them to strengthen their fighting capacity,” the report said.
When The Associated Press visited Fontaine Hospital Center earlier this year, Ulysse said in an interview that gangs had personally targeted him twice before.
A family sits in front of a UNICEF banner at a hospital.REUTERS
Gangs across Haiti have continued to grow stronger since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, and the number of kidnappings and murders continues to rise.
Earlier this year, at least 20 members of an armed group stormed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders and seized a patient from an operating room. The criminals gained access after faking a life-threatening emergency, the organization said.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
