PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP).— Two men were hacked to death in Haiti by a mob who believed they were going to buy ammunition or weapons for the gangs that have terrorized the country, police reported yesterday.
Authorities confirmed that the mob seized the men from police following they were found with nearly $20,000 and the equivalent of regarding $43,000 in Haitian currency in their car, along with two handguns and a box of ammunition.
Carrying that amount of money was considered suspicious, and residents assumed it was a purchase of weapons for the gangs.
The murders occurred the day before yesterday in a village near the provincial city of Mirebalais.
The police apparently shot into the air to try to prevent the murders, but the mob still killed the men.
One of the victims was a police officer and the other was a former guard, according to their identification documents.
These killings underscore how overwhelmed the police in Haiti are and the anger of Haitians following several months of murders, kidnappings and armed attacks carried out by that country’s gangs.
In the last month, gangs have attacked key infrastructure in the capital, Port-au-Prince, such as police stations, the main international airport, which remains closed, and Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
Crisis Action
Haiti faces a serious crisis of violence due to the action of gangs in the country.
Police
On Thursday, William O’Neill, the UN human rights expert for Haiti, said the Caribbean country now needs between 4,000 and 5,000 international police to confront “catastrophic” gang violence, targeting key people and hospitals, schools, banks and other key institutions.
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2024-04-03 02:56:12
