Trenches, drones: Haitian gangs adapt to fight Kenyan-led police

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Haiti’s powerful gangs are digging trenches, using drones and stockpiling weapons as they shift tactics to confront the Kenyan-led police force deployed to regain control of the government urgently, a UN report said on Monday.

According to the annual report, violence had increased with more than 3,600 murders and 1,100 kidnappings between January and June, and 85 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince was now controlled by the gangs.

Gang leaders have strengthened defenses in the areas they control and prepared gas canisters and Molotov cocktail bombs for use in police operations.

“To intimidate security forces, gangs have broadcast videos showing the weapons and ammunition they recently acquired,” even as an arms embargo has been tightened, the report said.

Human shields are another new tactic, preventing civilians from evacuating, trapping them in their homes and killing them if they try to escape.

Haiti has been plagued by political, humanitarian and security crises for years, but the situation worsened this year when armed gangs launched coordinated attacks and forced the prime minister to resign.

A UN-backed international support mission has been launched to support Haiti’s police force, although it has not yet reached its intended size.

The report said an alliance between several gangs was largely holding together, but that a notorious gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, better known as Barbeque, had lost influence.

It also noted that gangs recruited child soldiers and expanded their territory to increase revenue from kidnappings, extortion and drug trafficking.